MAJOR GENERAL JOHN A. DIX - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 12/18/1838 - HFSID 86938

GENERAL JOHN ADAMS DIX
He pens this letter to Secretary of the Navy James K. Paulding in 1838 to recommend that a young friend of his be promoted to midshipman. Dix was President James Buchanan's Secretary of the Treasury in 1861 and sent this famous order to an American boat less than three months before the American Civil War: "If any man attempts to haul down the American Flag, shoot him on the spot".
Autograph Letter Signed: "John A. Dix". Pencil notations at top edge in unknown hand. 1 page, 8x9¾. Albany, New York, Dec. 18, 1838. Addressed to the Honorable James K. Paudling, Secretary of the Navy. In full: "My dear Sir:- I take the liberty of calling your attention to the application of William Hamilton Gordon for the appointment of mid-shipman. His friends are extremely anxious for his success- the more so as he will in July next (or perhaps June) be 18 years of age. I earnestly hope this application may not fail. I have known the young many years, and feel a strong interest in his behalf as well as in his friends . - Will you allow me to com-mmend his case to your early & favorable con-sideration , & believe me to be Most truly Yours,". Author and satirist JAMES K. PAULDING (1778-1860) was Secretary of the Navy from 1838 to 1841. As President James Buchanan's Secretary of the Treasury (1861), JOHN ADAMSDIX (1798-1879) telegraphed this famous order to the American cutter Robert McClelland in the port of New Orleans on Jan. 29, 1861, less than three months before the start of the American Civil War: "If any man attempts to haul down the American Flag, shoot him on the spot". Dix later commanded the Department of Virginia (1862-1863) and the Department of the East (1863-1865). After the Civil War, he was Minister to France (1866-1869) and Governor of New York (1872-1874). The U. S. Army's Fort Dix in New Jersey is named in his honor. Lightly toned, Lightly toned, stained, creased and rippled. Address, but not signature, is lightly smeared but legible. Light tear in top left corner. Light nick in right edge. Neatly torn from binding at left edge. Otherwise, fine condition.