Jun 12 at 12:00 PM - Sale 2708 -
/

Sale 2708 - Lot 55

Estimate: $ 700 - $ 1,000
(CIVIL WAR.) William Raymond Lee. Letter to famed Richmond Unionist spy Elizabeth Van Lew, reflecting on the war. Autograph Letter Signed as "WR Lee" to Elizabeth Van Lew of Richmond, VA. 3 pages, 8 x 5 inches, on one folding sheet; mailing folds, minimal wear. With original stamped envelope bearing Boston postmark. Roxbury, MA, 18 April 1868
Request Condition Report Set Alert for Similar Items

Additional Details

William Raymond Lee (1807-1891) had been colonel of the 20th Massachusetts Infantry; his military career ended with a nervous breakdown at Antietam. This letter was addressed to Elizabeth Van Lew (1818-1900), who as a secret Union supporter in Richmond had operated a significant spy network in the midst of the Confederate capital. Shortly after the war, in September 1865, she had visited Boston to intercede on behalf of imprisoned Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens; during her visit she stayed at William Raymond Lee's home. She served as postmaster of Richmond after the war.

In this letter, Lee reacts to news of the ill health of another Virginia Unionist, John Botts (1802-1869): "He was bravely true, when courage & fidelity had a significant moral character. I respect him according to the measure of his noble conduct." He also reflects on the slow pace of Reconstruction: "You used the phrase 'since the war closed.' Is the war closed yet? Armed hostilities are at an end to a great extent, I confess--that's all."

Lee concludes with a defense of Van Lew's character: "The story of your having been a stipendiary of Gov't is very infamous, shamefully false. Such charges are hard to bear, I know, but there is no remedy. I have the highest reason to know that the statement is false."

Also in This Catalogue