MAJOR GENERAL FITZ JOHN PORTER - AUTOGRAPH TELEGRAM SIGNED 01/24/1862 - HFSID 254792

FITZ JOHN PORTER
A signed, handwritten telegram from Porter telling General George Sykes that his daughter is recovering from a fever and should be visited soon. Dated January of 1862, the year Porter would be arrested and court-martialed for disobeying orders during the Second Battle of Bull Run. Extremely rare!
Autograph Telegram signed: "F J Porter", 1p, 5x7¾. Washington, 1862 January 24, 11:55 am. To General George Sykes, 5th Army Corps, Falmouth. In full: "Your child has the scarlet fever. She is doing very well and not in immediate danger, but I think for her sake and your wife, you should come up." Marked: "Telegraph" at bottom by Porter. "N/12:30 PM" at bottom in unidentified hand. A nephew of David Porter and cousin of David D. Porter, Brigadier General Fitz John Porter (1822-1901) was accused by General John Pope of failure to carry out orders at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Ordered by Pope to attack an area that Porter knew was already being enveloped by the confederate forces, Porter chose to disregard Pope's order, knowing his forces would be decimated and cause a huge blow to the Union. However, he later complied and lost his forces (as he predicted), and advised another General not to follow the orders of Pope. Porter was subsequently arrested, court-martialed, and cashiered from the Army in 1863. The remainder of his career was spent defending his action, a chance he got when a review of the case in 1879 vindicated him. In 1886, an act of Congress restored his rank to Colonel of Infantry dating from 1861 and placed him on the retired list. GEORGE SYKES saw service at Gettysburg where he commanded V corps defending Little Round Top and Big Round Top. Lightly soiled and stained. Pinhead-size holes at upper blank margin. Lower right corner missing. Paper clip impression at upper left. Multiple folds. Lightly toned. Otherwise, fine condition.