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U. S. Grant

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD
U. S. Grant

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Auction Date:2013 Oct 16 @ 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
War-dated ALS signed “U. S. Grant, Lt. Gen.,” two pages, 5 x 8, Headquarters Armies of the United States letterhead, January 19, 1865. Letter to Major General Edward O. C. Ord, written from City Point, Virginia. In full: “Your private note of this date is rec'd. I think your suggestion to appoint a Commission to investigate into the Norfolk trade matter a good one. I could not suggest better names for the Commission than those named by you. Go on with it and lose no time in having the Commission commence its work.” In fine condition, with a bit of scattered mild dampstaining and mounting remnants to reverse edges lightly showing through.

When Major General Edward Ord took command of the XVIII Corps in 1864, he quickly raised suspicions of illicit trade with the blockaded Port of Norfolk by Union leaders in the department. In a letter to Brigadier General John Rawlins, Grant’s Chief of Staff, he suggested a Commission to investigate the trade carried on from the port to the interior of Virginia, focusing on the methods by which Confederate General Robert E. Lee's army received supplies. With Grant’s instant approval, the Commission formed, and within two months, eleven persons were named to be held for trial. George Lane, Benjamin Morse, Charles Whitlock, Ezra Baker, J. M. Renshaw, and six of their associates were accused of trading with the enemy. An excellent document regarding the all-to-common deceit that undermined the extensive Union blockade, and an excellent example of the swift action that made Grant the Union’s star general.