LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 December Civil War Auction #674  / 

72377

John Hunt Morgan & 61 Officers- Autograph Album

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:2,500.00 USD Estimated At:5,000.00 - 7,000.00 USD
John Hunt Morgan & 61 Officers- Autograph Album
<B>GENERAL JOHN HUNT MORGAN AND SIXTY-ONE OF HIS MEN SIGN AN AUTOGRAPH ALBUM TO A KENTUCKY WOMAN NAMED SALLIE (A RELATIVE OF HENRY CLAY) WHILE AT OHIO STATE PENITENTIARY IN 1863.</B></I> A brown leather-bound autograph album with decorative blind and gilt tool work on both boards, 5.25" x 7.75" in size. The first endpaper has a full-page Autograph Letter Signed of Colonel Richard C. Morgan, brother of John Hunt Morgan. It reads, in full: "<I>Ohio State Penitentiary/ Sept 27th, 1863/ Miss Sallie/ Permit a sincere friend to offer this simple token of remembrance, and esteem. The names which are inscribed upon these pages belong to the most devoted sons of our native state, and I cannot but believe that they will be grateful to the eyes of a true daughter of Kentucky. When your gaze rests upon them, let the thought awaken in your memory, that through misfortune and disappointments, in spite of delay & disaster, true hearts are still struggling for the honor, the independence, and the women of our State./ Very Truly/ R. C. Morgan/ Col. CSA/ Morgan Div Cavry</B></I>" "Miss Sallie" is known to be a relative of Henry Clay from the period as this album was originally purchased directly from a descendent of Clay.<BR><BR>The very next page bears the rare autograph of the legendary John Hunt Morgan; his signature is in a very desirable form including his rank and hometown, "<I>Jno. H. Morgan/ Brigd. Gen/ CS Army/ Lexington/ Ky</B></I>". What follows on the next sixty pages of this album are beautifully accomplished signatures of Hunt's staff officers, one per page, most all showing ranks, divisions, and hometowns. Of these, approximately forty-eight are natives of Kentucky with the balance from various other states and Washington, D.C. <BR><BR>Some of the other autographs found in this volume include the following: <B>Capt. Thomas S. Morgan</B></I>, likely a cousin of John Hunt Morgan; <B>Lt. Col. Joseph T. Tucker</B></I>, a member of the Kentucky 11th, Chenault's Cavalry, was later exchanged and served under Breckinridge in West Virginia; <B>Capt. Buford A Lucy</B></I>, Assistant Quartermaster for Chenault's Regiment; <B>Lt. Col. James B. McCreary</B></I>, would help Morgan escape from this prison, later would become the governor of Kentucky; <B>Capt. Hart Gibson</B></I>, Morgan's assistant adjutant general; <B>Col. Basil W. Duke</B></I>, Hunt's brother-in-law and right hand man, promoted to general upon Hunt's death, on President Jefferson Davis's escort staff at the end of the war, also historian and author; <B>Charlton Hunt Morgan</B></I>, John Hunt's brother and <I>aide de camp</B></I>; <B>Col. William W. Ward</B></I>- head of the 9th Tennessee; <B>2nd Lieut. Thomas W. Bullitt</B></I>, helped dig the tunnel for Morgan's escape; <B>Capt. T. Henry Hines</B></I>, the architect of Morgan's escape; and <B>Capts. Lorenzo D. Hockersmith</B></I>, <B>Jacob C. Bennett</B></I>, and <B>Ralph Sheldon</B></I>, all of whom escaped with Morgan and Hines.<BR><BR>In June and July of 1863, John Hunt Morgan led nearly 2500 troops on a daring raid to destroy bridges, railroads, and Union supplies in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana - farther north than any other uniformed Confederate penetration during the war. His regional commander, General Braxton Bragg, had given him permission to go into Kentucky but he was not to cross the Ohio River under any circumstance, an order he disobeyed. After terrorizing the citizens of Kentucky and Indiana, Morgan moved into Ohio on July 13, an action that would soon prove costly. Between July 19th and the 26th, Morgan and most of his command were captured by Union troops. The enlisted men ended up in the Camp Douglas stockade in Chicago while he and his officers were escorted to the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus. On November 27, Morgan and six of his men made a daring escape by tunneling through a ventilation shaft beneath their cells and scaling the wall. Two were recaptured, but Morgan and the other four made it back to the South. It was less than a year later that John Hunt Morgan was fatally shot while surrendering to a Union cavalryman in Tennessee. Kentucky and Indiana have capitalized on Morgan's Raid in modern times by marking the trails through the states so that tourists can follow Morgan's route. Ohio has plans to do the same.<BR><B><BR>Condition:</B></I> The book is fair, spine lacking, front hinge starting, and the leather is deteriorating- all are easily repaired. The condition of the signatures however is fine with only tiny tears on the top of the first two pages, not affecting any writing. <BR><BR>This is an absolutely amazing item, certainly one of the finest groupings of Confederate signatures available, especially to a collector of material related to the Commonwealth of Kentucky.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Books & Catalogs (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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