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Jefferson Davis

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:6,000.00 - 8,000.00 USD
Jefferson Davis

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Auction Date:2013 Jul 25 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
War-dated ALS signed “Jeffn Davis,” one page, 6.5 x 8.5, November 11, 1861. Letter written as president to an unidentified gentleman. In full: “Upon the receipt of information sent through Mr. [James] Williams that Mr. [William L.] Yancey desired to return, a letter was written to him which authorized him to do so. The application was for recall but the authority was so given as to leave the question of his remaining at home, open for future consideration and decision—It was sent long since and he may now be on his way home." In very good condition, with light intersecting folds, one through a single letter of the signature, and a uniform shade of toning from previous display.

At the start of 1861, one of the Confederacy’s strongest hopes for gaining independence was that the British, dependent on cotton supplied by the southern states, would recognize the Confederate States and break the Union blockade. William Yancey and two others were chosen to form a European delegation to explain the southern cause, open diplomatic relations, and negotiate commercial and navigational treaties with Britain. Despite pressure from both the Confederacy and the US to make an official declaration of support, the British maintained a position of neutrality, declaring the war an ‘internal matter’ pending further developments. Both sides continued to relentlessly work on winning their support, and by August 1861, Yancey had grown frustrated and sick and requested permission to return home. Desiring better qualified diplomats in Britain and France as well, Confederate president Jefferson Davis granted this request and chose John Slidell and James Mason to replace the current delegation. The two boarded the RMS Trent for Britain, but on November 8 (three days before this letter was written), the US Navy intercepted the ship and took the men prisoners as ‘contraband.’ Great Britain accused the US of violating British neutrality, creating an unintended diplomatic crisis between the two. An attractive letter from a critical time in the early stages of the Civil War.