MAJOR GENERAL CARL SCHURZ - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 02/09/1903 - HFSID 177249

CARL SCHURZ
In this signed handwritten note, the Civil War Union General responds to a query regarding the quality of a photograph
Autograph Letter Signed: "C. Schurz". One page. 5x8. New York. Dated February 9, 1903. To: John Callen Bryant Esq. In Full: "My Dear Sir, The photograph enclosed in your letter of the 3rd __ is not bad. But you might get better ones by applying to the establishments of Hallinger & Co. 5th Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets and Wm Kurtz, 33d St. opposite the Waldorf-Astoria in this city. Very Truly Yours," Carl Schurz (1829-1906) was a German-born United States politician, military veteran, and publisher. Educated in modern-day Germany, he moved to the United States in 1852 after the 1848 revolution in Germany failed. At the time, Germany was still a loose confederation of dozens of small states, and the revolution sought to establish a single state. While the revolution failed, Germany as a nation coalesced just a few decades later in 1871. Schurz settled in Wisconsin in 1855 and became active in the anti-slavery movement, joining the Republican Party. In 1861, Lincoln appointed him the United States Ambassador to Spain. This foreign relations position was especially important: Schurz was sent to Spain to dissuade them from supporting the South. Upon his return, he was commissioned brigadier general of the Union volunteers and saw action at Second Bull Run, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. In 1865, President Andrew Johnson sent him to report on conditions in the South, a report that was largely ignored. On March 4, 1869, Schurz became the first German-born American to be elected to the U.S. Senate, where he represented Missouri until 1875. He decided not to run for reelection. Two years later, he was nominated to be Secretary of the Interior under President Hayes from 1877-1881. Schurz was a champion for Indian rights, fighting to keep the Office of Indian Affairs in the Department of Interior and not the War Department. He moved to New York in 1881 and became editor of the New York Evening Post. A widely published author, he was famous for saying "My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right." Soiled. A ½x7-inch vertical stain touches text. Slightly creased. Otherwise, fine condition.