The former Union officer is supported by Confederate officers as he fights to clear his name.  ALS: "F.J. Porter", 4p, 5x7¾. New York, 1882 January 24. To Colonel Charles Marshall, Baltimore, Maryland. Begins: "My dear Colonel". In full: "I Thank you warmly for your full reply to my letter - I knew or believed that no written messages had passed between Longstreet & Gen Lee to the effect I wrote you - but Longstreet had testified to that effect before the Board. had written it years before. and Col. W.M Owens of New Orleans. had without confering (sic) with Longstreet. stated he heard Gen Lee about 1. PM. tell Longstreet to advance. & Longstreets reply that he wanted to hear from Stuart of the force coming up on this right - and So I took it for granted it was so. I am glad to have the details you give. That Genl Lee had a contempt for Genl Pope and justly I never doubted. He knew Pope. I don't think that any grounds could have induced him to make the moves he did. unless he was vastly superior in numbers to Pope and knew Pope would not be reinforced in time to save him. and I think it was fortunate for him that he did not get around to his flank as early as you say he intended.…"

Rutherford B. Hayes sends an autograph letter of regret that Mrs. Hayes will not be able to visit. Autograph Letter Signed: "R.B. Hayes" as President, 1p, 5x7¾. Executive Mansion, Washington, 1877 May 6. To Edward T. Steel. In full: "I received from Mr. Justice your note of the 4th and am exceedingly obliged for your kindness in this matter. Our stay will be so short and the presence with us here of a number of friends, will prevent Mrs. Hayes from being one of our party." Written just two months after Hayes took office. The election of Rutherford B. Hayes brought a new image to the White House. Rutherford and Lucy Hayes represented wholesomeness and decency. Mrs. Hayes was a popular hostess, but by the time of this letter both she and the President decided not to continue to have alcohol at White House functions. Interestingly, just one month before this letter, at the first state function at the White House, six wines were served at a dinner held in honor of the son of the Czar of Russia. Thereafter, no spirits were served and Mrs. Hayes became the champion of suffragists and was called "Lemonade Lucy". Light ink transference at blank areas. Fine condition.

Handwritten letter, signed in text as "General Custer" (even though he had reverted to his pre-war rank), written in the Dakota Territory two years before his death at the Little Big Horn. Letter includes Custer's stab at poetry. Third Person Autograph Letter, 1 page, 7¾x6¼. Fort Lincoln, D.T. [Dakota Territory], 1874 June 5th. Unknown addressee. In full: "Gen Custers compliments his regrets likewise, in response to your kind invitation. His absence should never create surprise except from his own habitation. This being written his duty might end. With no fear of being called Alfred Tennyson. He simply desires, however to send you, the accompanying leg of venison." George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876) graduated last in his class at West Point in 1858, but promptly redeemed himself through his brave and aggressive cavalry leadership during the Civil War. Earning the confidence of cavalry commanders Pleasanton and Sheridan, he rose swiftly to the rank of brevet major general by war's end. Custer had taken command of the 5th Michigan Cavalry shortly before Gettysburg and led it into battle repeatedly. Custer left military service briefly after the Civil War, dabbling in business and politics, but by 1867 he was back in uniform, battling Plains Indians.

Civil War legend Joshua Chamberlain signed check to local stonecutter. Partly Printed Check signed: "J.L. Chamberlain", 7x2¾. Brunswick, Me., 1867 October 12. Drawn on the First National Bank of Brunswick. Payable to D.M. Melcher for $65.00. Affixed at left is a 2-cent U.S. Internal Revenue stamp picturing Washington. D.M. Melcher & Co., Brunswick, Maine, was a stonecutter company that erected monuments in cemeteries. Colonel Chamberlain, formerly a professor at Bowdoin College, Maine, commanded the 20th Maine in its famous defense of Little Round Top in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. His unit was posted as left flank of the Union Army and fended off repeated Confederate attacks throughout the day. He broke the Confederate lines by a bayonet charge. Chamberlain, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions that day, received the only battlefield promotion to General in the Civil War. At Appomattox Courthouse, April 9, 1865, Brevet Major General Chamberlain was chosen to accept the Confederate surrender. He then ordered Union troops to present arms to their former enemy as a mark of respect. Chamberlain was Republican Governor of Maine (1866-1970), then assumed the presidency of Bowdoin.  His severe war wounds eventually killed him in 1914.

Giant 16½x21 portrait photo of a seated Sherman in uniform, taken in 1888 by famed photograph Napoleon Sarony of New York. An extremely rare oversized photo of the legendary general! Photograph signed: "W. T. Sherman/General/New York/March 21, 1888/born Feb. 8 1820". Sepia, 16½x21.  William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891), a West Point graduate and Mexican War veteran, served as a corps commander under General U. S. Grant in successful Union campaigns down the Mississippi and in Tennessee, then took command of the western armies when Grant was reassigned to the Virginia theatre of war. His capture of Atlanta and subsequent "march to the sea" through Georgia, followed by a swift campaign north through the Carolinas to force the surrender of the last major Confederate army, are praised for their military skill but condemned to this day for their "scorched earth" approach to occupied territory. After the war, Sherman applied similarly harsh but effective methods in campaigns against Amerindian tribes of the Great Plains. As commanding general of the U. S. Army (1869-1883), he established the Command School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Sherman, who personally shunned politics ("If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve.…"

Signatures of 18 Senators, 6 Representatives, and 4 territorial delegates on a manuscript document ordering copies of a Senate speech delivered one month before the House voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson. Many of these signers, including Benjamin Wade, Benjamin Butler and Oliver Morton, were of great importance in the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Manuscript DS by 28 members of the 40th Congress of the United States, 1 page, 8x12½. Washington, circa 1868 January 16. Order form for copies of the "Speech of Hon. William M. Stewart/of Nevada on the Bill To establish a/National School of Mines/Delivered in the Senate Jan. 16th 1868/To be printed McGill & Wetherow's Globe Office at $2 per 100". Each Senator or Representative has added the number of copies ordered next to his signature: "Wm M. Stewart 3000", "C. Cole 500", "O.P. Morton 200", "H.W. Corbett 200", "J.M. Thayer 200", "W.H. Hooper 100", "J.K. Moorhead 200", "Benj F. Butler 100", "G.M. Chilcott 200", "B.F. Wade 300" in pencil, "W. Higby 100", "Coles Bashford 200", "J. Fran Chaves 200", "Lewis Selye 200", "N.P. Banks 100", "Alex G. Cattell 200", "J M Howard 200", "F.T. Frelinghuysen 200", "J.W.…"

Partly Printed DS: "Andrew Johnson" as President and "William H. Seward" as Secretary of State, 1p, 13¾x10. Washington, 1866 May 4. Appointment of William T. Coggeshall of Ohio as "Minister Resident of the United States of America to the Republic of Ecuador". COGGESHALL (1824-1867) presented his credentials on September 20, 1866, serving until his death in Guapolo, Ecuador on August 3, 1867. Congress had passed the Tenure of Office Act on March 2, 1867, over JOHNSON's veto. It required Senate approval for a president to remove any federal official previously confirmed by the Senate. On August 12, 1867, just nine days after Coggeshall's death, Johnson dismissed Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, a Radical Republican, in defiance of the act. This action led to Johnson's impeachment in 1868. The Radical Republicans controlling the Senate then refused to confirm most of Johnson's appointments, including three successive Ministers to Ecuador. It was not until Grant became President in 1869 that the Senate confirmed the appointment of Coggeshall's successor. SEWARD, who had been appointed by President Lincoln on March 5, 1861, served as Secretary of State through Johnson's administration. Lightly creased. Folds, vertical fold touches the second "l" in William.

Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant Signs 1865 Document for Galena Monument Association as National Hero. Printed DS: "U.S. Grant" as President of the Soldiers Monument Association, 1p, 14x17. Galena, Ill., 1865 August 28. Not filled in. In full: "This Certifies that [blank] Is hereby Constituted a Member of the Jo Daviess Soldiers' Monument Association." Vignette of Lincoln at top center and five other smaller vignettes. Engraved by the Continental Bank Note Co., New York. At the time the Civil War broke out, former soldier Ulysses S. Grant was working in his father's hardware store in Galena, Illinois. Four years later, Lieutenant General Grant was the hero of Galena and of the Civil War, which ended on April 9, 1865. The citizens of Galena purchased a furnished home in town and presented it to Grant. He signed its deed on August 18, 1865. Other honors were heaped upon the General, including the honorary presidency of the Jo Daviess Soldiers' Monument Association, for which he signed this membership certificate (according to his memoirs) on August 28, 1865. Galena is located on the Mississippi River in Jo Daviess County, named for the Daniel Boone-like figure of Col. JOSEPH H.

Telegram, unsigned, 1 page, 8½x11. 1866 December 6. Telegram partly printed in Portuguese, received from Gideon Welles in Washington, D.C., for transmittal to Admiral Goldsborough, American Squadron at Lisbon, Portugal. Manuscript text of Welles' message (unknown hand): "Send steamer to Alexandria, Egypt to receive Surautt [sic] from Consul Hale and bring him to Washington." [Welles' name has also been misspelled by the telegraph office.] Docketed on verso: "Hon. G. Welles/Secy of the Navy/6th Dec. 1866/Send steamer to/Alexandria, Egypt". Gideon Welles (1812-1878), a Jacksonian Democrat who joined the new Republican Party in 1854 because he detested slavery, was Secretary of the Navy throughout the Presidencies of Abraham Lincoln (who called him "Neptune") and Andrew Johnson (1861-1869). John Suratt (1844-1916) was the son of Mary Suratt, convicted of conspiracy in the assassination of President Lincoln and the first woman executed (hanged) by the US government. John Suratt was accused of involvement in the conspiracy, but remained at large for a year and a half, fleeing first to Canada and then through Europe, escaping after first having been captured in Italy.

Seven weeks after surrendering Fort Sumter, Colonel Robert Anderson writes to General Lorenzo Thomas about a recent meeting with President Lincoln's lifelong friend Joshua Speed. Important ALS: "Robert Anderson/Col. USA", 1p, 7¾x9¾. Cincinnati, Ohio, 1861 June 4. To General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant General USA, Washington, D.C. In full: "I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Genl Orders (Adjt Genls Office) No 25.6&7 and G.O. No. 7 Hd Qrs of the Army, and also of a letter from the Hon. J.K. Moorehead to the Hon. Secy of War, with enclosures, referring to certain parties in Louisville Ky reported to be engaged in furnishing or forwarding, Revolvers, Tents, Knapsacks &c to the rebels, Mr. Joshua Speed, a firm Union Man and a man of sound judgement, to whom I showed these papers, advises that no steps be now taken in this matter-greater harm than benefit to the cause would result from it. A letter from Surgeon Wright USA. the Senior Medical Office in this Dept. is, herewith, forwarded. I am satisfied that the opinion he gives, confirming the views of the Physicians who advised with me before I left N.Y. is correct. Fortunately, my absence from Ky.…"

From the President to the son of Buchanan's Postmaster General: He cannot attend a meeting of the Society of the Army of the Potomac. Manuscript LS: "Benj Harrison" as President, 1p, 7½x10. Executive Mansion, Washington, 1892 May 21. To Hon. Horatio C. King, Brooklyn, N.Y. In full: "I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of May 19th in which you extend to me a cordial invitation to attend the annual meeting of the Society of the Army of the Potomac to be held at Scranton June 15th and 16th. I fear that it will not be possible for me to accept this invitation, and assure you that I regret that it is so." KING, son of Buchanan's Postmaster General, was Judge Advocate General of New York. In the Civil War, he served with the Army of the Potomac and Shenandoah from 1862-1865. Harrison was Colonel in the 70th Indiana Regiment in the Civil War. Just 2½ weeks after this letter, President Harrison was renominated on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention held in Minneapolis June 7-10, 1892. Tanned, lined page. Lightly creased. Vertical fold touches the "a" in Harrison. Fine condition.

The former Civil War Union general accepts the invitation of Ohio Senator John Sherman to act as Marshal for the Ceremonies at the dedication of the Washington Monument. Manuscript LS: "P.H. Sheridan" as Lieutenant General, 1½p, 7½ x 9¾ lined sheet, front and verso (hinged to show both sides of letter). Washington, D.C., 1884 December 12. On letterhead of Headquarters, Army of the United States to Hon. John Sherman, U.S. Senate. Begins: "My dear Sir". In full: "I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of December 11th. communicating the resolution unanimously adopted by the Commission, inviting me to 'act as Marshal on the day of the ceremonies, to arrange the details of the procession and assign to the different organizations their places in the line.' Accepting with pleasure the duty thus assigned me, I beg that you will convey to the commission my high appreciation of the distinguished honor conferred upon me.…"