Lot 105
Bee, Barnard Elliott, Jr (1824-1861) Confederate general; he was one of the first general officers to be killed in the war. It was Bee who gave Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson the nickname "Stonewall." Autograph document signed "Bee", 2pp, 7¾ x 9¾ in., n.p. (Fort Snelling, Minnesota), c. 1857. Bee writes an obituary for "Capt. James A. Ward of the Third Regiment of Infantry whose death at St Anthony, Minnosota was lately announced…a native of Georgia…graduated at West Point in 1845 and attached to the Sixth Regiment of Infantry…." Bee, who also graduated from West Point in 1845, notes that Ward joined the 3rd Infantry at Vera Cruz and was severely wounded at Cerro Gordo, that he served in New Mexico, where he invented "a valuable improvement in firearms….In social life…his warm heart and generous impulses made many friends; his loss will be more severely felt however by those who were the associates of his earlier days, among these the writer is proud to emumerate himself…." Fine condition with only a couple of small edge separations at folds. Clearly and neatly written.
Bee was breveted twice for gallantry in the Mexican-American War, first at Cerro Gordo, where he was wounded, and then at Chapultepec. After the Mexican-American War, he was posted to garrison duty at Pascagoula, Mississippi, where he served as adjutant, then from 1849 to 1855, was on frontier duty in New Mexico. In 1855 he was posted to Fort Snelling (originally known as Fort St. Anthony), Minnesota and promoted to captain of Company D of the Tenth Infantry Minnesota. In 1857 he was placed in command of the Utah Volunteer Battalion, which took part in the Utah War, and was brevetted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1860, Bee served briefly as commanding officer of Fort Laramie, Wyoming. Bee resigned from the U.S. Army on March 3, 1861, and returned to Charleston where he was elected lieutenant colonel of the 1st South Carolina Regulars. On June 17, 1861, Bee was appointed brigadier general and given command of the third brigade of the Army of the Shenandoah, under Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. He was mortally wounded at First Bull Run on July 21 and died the next day. Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,500
|
| |
| Unsold |
