Lot 229
Sherman, William Tecumseh. Matted and framed with a steel engraving of General Sherman, and an inscribed plaque that reads: " William T. Sherman, 1820-1891, Union General - Civil War." (1820-1891). Leading Union Army General during the Civil War.
Autograph Letter Signed. Three pages, Octavo, Sandy Hook, November 11, 1866. To Union General Nathaniel P. Banks (1816-1894) of Boston. Lengthy letter written while aboard a U.S. military ship, off Sandy Hook, on his way to Mexico, where Sherman had been dispatched on a diplomatic mission. President Andrew Johnson, then unpopular, was attempting to get his potential rival, Ulysses S. Grant, to go out of the country, and he needed Sherman to come in as his Secretary of War and bolster Johnson's standing with Congress. The President tried to get Grant to go to Mexico; but he balked. Sherman didn't want to be Secretary of War, and, much to Johnson's annoyance, broke the impasse with Grant by offering to go to Mexico in Grant's place. So, in the Fall of 1866, Sherman sailed south, on this mission to Mexico. The letter is forward looking and has a democratic and patriotic outlook:
" …Mr Campbell the Minister has with him a very competent Secretary of L…[?] in Mr. Plumb who will keep him fully advised of all matters touching the Interests of Mexico …We have a noble ship and I hope we shall soon be in Vera Cruz, ready to open communication with a stable Republican Government in our poor nieghbor Mexico, able to point to the example of our own Great Country …"
Fine.
Estimated Value $800 - 1,000.
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