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Gettysburg: O. O. Howard

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:12,000.00 - 14,000.00 USD
Gettysburg: O. O. Howard

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Auction Date:2013 Jul 25 @ 18:00 (UTC-05:00 : 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
One-armed Union general (1830–1909) who participated at Gettysburg and commanded the Army of Tennessee during Sherman’s March to the Sea. General Howard’s war-dated handwritten General Orders No. 18, signed “O. O. Howard, Major General Commanding,” two lightly-lined pages, 8 x 10, “Near Boonsboro, Md.,” July 10, 1863. Orders read, in full: “The general again thanks his command for what has been done during the last month. You have now met the enemy, and feel conscious that you have done your duty. On the 1st day of July, with the First Corps and Buford’s Division of Cavalry, you held double your numbers in check from 12 m. until night, and thus opened the way for the victory that followed. On the second, you held an important position during the cannonade, and repulsed the enemy, when already within your batteries and breaking through your lines.

On the third, the same post was strongly held under the severest cannonade of the war. Our batteries, aided by our infantry, contributed a full share to the repulse of the enemy’s last attempt to drive the army from its position. The Eleventh Corps, as a Corps, has done well–well in marching, well in fighting; the Sacrifices it has made shall not be forgotten. In the retrospect, your general feels satisfied. Now, we must make one more effort. Let there be no wavering, no doubt. Our cause is right and our success sure.”

At the bottom of the second page, Howard has written a short ALS to Mrs. Amos Binney, donating the order to the 1864 Baltimore Sanitary Fair. Dated “Lookout Valley, Tenn, Nov. 15th, 1864,” the letter reads, “The choice of the above order has been made because it was issued on Maryland soil. I enclose a printed copy as an interpretation.”

In fine condition, with missing lower right corner tip and a slight separation to hinge. Accompanied by the printed copy mentioned by Howard.

As the Army of the Potomac pushed Robert E. Lee and his defeated army back to Virginia, seven days after the Battle of Gettysburg, Howard issued this congratulatory General Order to his devoted troops. Poorly positioned and forced to retreat on the first day of the battle, Howard’s troops spent the second and third days on the defensive around Cemetary Hill, withstanding assaults by Jubal Early and participating at the margin of the defense against Pickett’s Charge. Though they contributed relatively little to the final success (and were widely regarded as one of the least reliable and least effective Corps in the Army of the Potomac), Howard here praises their strength against heavy odds, telling his Corps that “the Sacrifices it has made shall not be forgotten. In the retrospect, your general feels satisfied.” The following March, Howard added the short letter to Mrs. Amos Binney, one of the organizers of the 1864 Baltimore Sanitary Fair, obliging a request for his autograph to auction off to raise funds for the Union troops. Though the fairs were a frequent occurrence, this particular event was an especially momentous occasion, as it was one of only three that President Lincoln himself attended. A remarkable handwritten General Order, made significantly more desirable by the second autographed note and connection to a memorable Sanitary Fair.