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Braxton Bragg

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:1,500.00 - 2,000.00 USD
Braxton Bragg

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Auction Date:2014 Apr 16 @ 18:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:236 Commercial St., Suite 100, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109, 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
ALS, one page, lightly-lined both sides, 5 x 7.75, no date but circa 1872. Letter to Henry B. Dawson, editor of Historical Magazine. In full: “Renewing my thanks for your courtesy and recalling my letter of 27th June ’72, I beg to enclose copies of some records calculated to remove erroneous impressions produced by Gen. Hill’s letter to Gen. Breckinridge dated 26 Oct. 1863 and published by you in June ’72. I regret the long delay and hope Gen. Hill’s letter may be republished so as to put the whole case together. I have many other valuable documents which should see the light but have not the time to copy and prepare them. These papers are submitted for your use and in your way—and not by me—for of all things, and especially in our present condition, I abhor a controversy.” A noticeable vertical fold, trivial area of paper loss to one corner, and some mild foxing, otherwise fine condition. Accompanied by an unsigned portrait. Following the Civil War, Historical Magazine began to feature previously unpublished letters which disclosed internal intrigue, feuds, controversies, and general discord within the Southern ranks—a tabloid-esque, firsthand depiction of the generals that had not been seen before by the public. In the letter from Hill to Breckinridge referred to here (actually published in February 1872), Hill addresses issues that arose between him, Bragg, and Leonidas Polk following the Battle of Chickamuga. Despite a Confederate victory, Bragg suspended Polk from command because of a delay in attacking the Union line; Polk, in turn, laid the blame on Hill. Meanwhile, Hill and other officers under Bragg’s command criticized him for failing to pursue Union troops as they retreated, submitting a statement to Jefferson Davis that Bragg was unfit to lead. The end result was that Bragg retained his position, Polk was reassigned, and Hill was left without a command. In the published letter, Hill writes that he had made amends with Polk, but Bragg was just trying to please President Davis and account for his own failures. Bragg, who was one of the Confederacy’s least-liked and most controversial generals due to his argumentative nature and generally sour disposition, making his claim that he “abhors a controversy” especially interesting. He clearly disagreed with Hill’s assessment and sought to set the record straight—even a decade later he continued fighting battles with his detractors, making this a perfectly characteristic letter by the hardheaded Confederate.