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357

John Maffitt

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:1,000.00 - 1,500.00 USD
John Maffitt

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Auction Date:2010 Nov 10 @ 19:00 (UTC-5 : 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
Officer in the Confederate Navy who was nicknamed the ‘Prince of Privateers’ due to his remarkable success as a blockade runner and commerce raider in the war. ALS signed “Jno. N. Maffitt,” on both both sides of one lightly-lined page, 5.5 x 9, September 1, 1874. Letter to a lady in South Carolina accepting an invitation for a visit. In part: “As soon as my passing engagement leaves me a…moment, I will most heartily…submit with extreme pleasure all that is left to me of the sad past…As soon as I can collect myself (a poor Confederate farmer, looking out for…his crop).” In his postscript, Maffitt writes, in part: “Ah my dear madam, the sad memories of our unfortunate struggle against everything that was powerful and ungenerous; causes my heart to shed a tear of sorrow—not only over our failure, but for the majestic lives we lost.” Also at the top of the front page, Maffitt writes that his testimony before a Navy court “restored this old fr. & shipmate to his proper rank…he…fully appreciates Confederate knightly honor.” In very good condition, with intersecting folds, scattered toning, a bit heavier to back, as well as a few old tape remnants to back right edge.

During the Civil War, Maffitt is credited with destroying or capturing as much as $15 million in much needed Union supplies. His dedication to the Confederacy was so great that after the South fell, he chose to surrender his vessel to the British rather than admit defeat. Returning to the United States in 1868, where he became “a poor Confederate farmer, looking out for…his crop” in North Carolina, he clung the past and “the sad memories of our unfortunate struggle against everything that was powerful and ungenerous,” grieving “not only over our failure, but for the majestic lives we lost.”
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