MAJOR GENERAL JOSHUA LAWRENCE CHAMBERLAIN - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 09/23/1871 - HFSID 285952

JOSHUA L. CHAMBERLAIN
He signs a handwritten letter in 1871 responding to a bill for nautical equipment, complaining that some of it was faulty.
ALS: "J L. Chamberlain", 2 pages, 5x8. Brunswick, Maine, 1871 September 23. To C.S. Donnelly, Esq. In part: "Your bill is received as requested, & is I believe correct. I don't know anything about the Notch Boom but suppose Capt. Stover got it. It never came to my yacht, but if it was got for me, I will be accountable for it…Also I may mention that I found the pump, when I came to set it, in two pieces, never having been properly soldered or brazed. & I had to pay $1.00 to have it done…But the pump was an imperfect one, & I would have returned it if I could have done so. Please inform me if I am at liberty to make deduction accordingly…." Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (1828-1914) commanded the 20th Maine in its famous defense of Little Round Top in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. Chamberlain was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for this action. At Appomattox Courthouse on 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 later elected Governor of Maine (1866-1870) and served as President of Bowdoin College. In 1914, a serious war wound received at Petersburg in 1864 finally claimed his life, making him the last Civil War veteran to die from his war wounds. Docketed on verso of second page. Lightly creased. Folds, vertical fold touches "J" and "L" of signature. Fine condition.