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Edwin M. Stanton

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:600.00 - 800.00 USD
Edwin M. Stanton

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Auction Date:2014 Nov 12 @ 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
Civil War–dated ALS signed “Edwin M. Stanton, Sec. of War,” one page, lightly-lined, 7.75 x 9.75, War Department letterhead, September 18, 1862. Letter to Brigadier General J. W. Ripley. In part: “You will give immediate and strict instructions to the officer in charge at all the arsenals, armories, and magazines of the United States to guard against malicious or accidental destruction by fire. There is reason to believe that there is an organized design on foot for their description. Please acknowledge the receipt of this order.” Fragile toned horizontal folds with partial edge separations, otherwise fine condition. Stanton penned this letter the day after the Allegheny Arsenal explosion, which killed 78 people—the single largest civilian disaster during the war. The cause of the explosion was never determined, but theories ranged from a stray spark from a horseshoe setting loose gunpowder ablaze to Confederate sabotage—thus Stanton’s vague warning of “malicious or accidental destruction.” The tragedy was largely overshadowed, however, as it occurred on the same day as the Battle of Antietam. A fascinating letter from the aftermath and confusion of a tragic day.