Lot 383
Lee, Robert E (1807-1870) Autograph Letter Signed ("R E Lee"), 1p, 8"x5", on ruled paper, Lexington, Va., 1867 Oct. 29. Fine; light edge stains do not affect text or signature. To. Mrs. Adaline Anderson, Louisville, Ky, referring to the political controversy over the pillage and confiscation of George Washington's relics from R.E. Lee's home "Arlington" by Federal troops during the Civil War. Gen. Lee's wife, Mary Custis Lee, who was the great-granddaughter of Martha Washington, possessed relics from Gen. and Mrs. Washington. During the war, Union Gen. McDowell took over Lee's home and made it a Federal post. Many Washington and Lee family items were pillaged by marauding Union soldiers and Gen. McDowell placed the remainder on display in Washington as "Captured at Arlington." In 1868, Gen. and Mrs. Lee petitioned President Andrew Johnson for their return, only to have a radical Congress pass a resolution "that the Washington relics were property of the United States and any attempt to deliver them to the rebel general Robert E. Lee was an insult to the loyal people of the United States."
Gen. Lee writes to Mrs. Anderson: "You have been misinformed by the public papers. I have no watch to be delivered to the nearest relative of Gen. Washington. A watch has been placed in my hands, which is supposed to have belonged to Gen. Washington, to be restored to the owner from whom it was taken during the late war.…." Gen. Lee is careful to avoid saying that the watch was taken from Arlington, but the inference is there. The letter is accompanied by the holograph transmittal envelope. An important letter, linking radical reconstruction policies, the family connection between Washington and Lee, and the pillaging of historical items as spoils of war.
Estimated Value $8,500 - 10,000.
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