LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2006 Dec Signature Civil War Auction #642  / 

25458

General JEB Stuart Handwritten Congratulatory

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:3,750.00 USD Estimated At:15,000.00 - 18,000.00 USD
General JEB Stuart Handwritten Congratulatory
<B>General JEB Stuart Handwritten Congratulatory Letter to General Fitzhugh Lee on Lee's Brigadier General's Commission.</B></I> Less than one year after his appointment to a Lieutenant Colonel's commission under General JEB Stuart , Fitzhugh Lee, nephew of Robert E. Lee would be promoted to Brigadier General for his actions in the Peninsular Campaign. Fitzhugh Lee's commission signed by Confederate Secretary of War George W. Randolph passed through the hands of his commander General Stuart who took the opportunity to add his own personal congratulations (and those of General Robert E. Lee) by writing on the back of the commission, "<I>Hd Qtrs. Cavalry Division, July 24, 1862, My Dear General, Please accept Gen'l R. E. Lee and my own congratulations on the within but I am free to say I reserve the "main body" of my congratulations for myself and the Bounty of having a Brigadier. I hope you will report soon. Very Truly Yours JEB Stuart Major Gen'l</B></I>." <BR><BR>Handwritten by Stuart at first in pencil, Stuart wrote over the remarks in ink, apparently at the request of Lee. Measuring 16.5" x 10.75" when laid flat, this historical document is in fine condition with only paper folds, none of which obscure General Stuart's handwritten congratulatory note to Robert E. Lee's nephew. In just over one year, General Stuart would be engaged in the largest cavalry battle ever fought on American soil at Brandy Station. On May 11, 1864, the legendary 'Last Cavalier' of the Confederacy would be mortally wounded while thwarting General Sheridan's cavalry at Yellow Tavern on the outskirts of Richmond. He died the next day and is buried at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.<BR><BR>General Fitzhugh Lee would go on to lead his cavalrymen as one of the youngest cavalry commanders of the Civil War. He would see action at Antietam, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg before being wounded at the Third Battle of Winchester. Re-entering service toward the end of the war, with Stuart dead, Fitzhugh served as his uncle R. E. Lee's cavalry commander. He later served in the army as a Major General of Volunteers in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, distinguishing him as one of few men who wore a General's uniform in both gray and blue. He died in 1905. Nicely framed, this appointment of Lee to a Brigadier is significant in itself. The handwritten notations of his friend General JEB Stuart make it doubly important. A framed copy of the letter General Robert E. Lee wrote to his brother Sidney congratulating him on Fitzhugh's appointment is included.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Framed (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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