MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH "FIGHTIN' JOE" WHEELER - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 03/13/1901 - HFSID 217933

JOSEPH "FIGHTING JOE" WHEELER
Joseph Wheeler wrote this letter to a senator in 1901. It was enclosed with several editorial cartoons that, according to Wheeler, indicated a shift in public opinion for the better. This letter was written less than a year after Wheeler resigned from the U. S. House of Representatives.
Autograph letter signed "Joseph Wheeler". 3 pages, 4x6¼, 1 sheet folded, front and verso, on stationery of the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. March 13, 1901. In full: "Dear Senator Clark I enclose an editorial from the Boston Herald of March 5th. While the editorial cartoons [illegible] unjust [illegible] it show s that the people are beginning to under- that the [illegible] statement which [illegible] offered in the press eminate [sic] from disappointed rivals. It will not be long before a thorough re-action will come and when such things do come they come like a flood. Considering the source from which the others come it all we could expect. Trusting that you are quite well, [illegible] yours." There were two United State Senators named Clark in the 56th and 57th Congresses, which respectively ended and began in 1901: William Clark of Montana and Clarence Clark of Wyoming. We're unsure for which senator this letter was intended. We do know that Wheeler resigned as Congressman from Alabama in 1900, during the 56th Congress, after a 15-year term. A Confederate Major General and senior Cavalry General of the Confederate Armies, Wheeler (1836-1906, born near Augusta, Georgia), by his own account, fought in 400 battles, was wounded three times and had 16 horses shot out from under him. After the war, he lived in New Orleans for two years before settling in Wheeler, Alabama, named in his honor. There, he practiced law and engaged in cotton planting before representing his adopted state as a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives (1881-1882, 1883, 1885-1900). He later served as Major General of Volunteers in the Spanish American War and was the Commander at the Battle of Las Guasimas, Cuba, the first United States Army victory on foreign soil. Lightly toned and soiled. Spine is worn. Folded once and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition.