?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
(CIVIL WAR--CONFEDERATE.) Group of correspondence with the upper levels of the Confederate District of Texas late in the war. 20 items, signed by various parties, including 6 items with a total of 10 signatures by Confederate generals (3 by John Bankhead Magruder, 3 by John G. Walker, and one each by Paul O. Hebert, James M. Hawes, John Horace Forney, and Henry E. McCulloch), plus 4 signed by Colonel Ashbel Smith, and one by Governor Pendleton Murrah, plus many others; condition generally strong. Texas, February 1864 to May 1865
Texas was the last stronghold of the Confederacy, under the command of Major General John Bankhead Magruder. Most of these letters and orders were either addressed to General Magruder and the District of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona; or were retained copies from that district; or were forwarded up the chain of command for endorsement there. Highlights include:
Dispatch regarding provost guards dated Houston, 12 March 1864, with signed endorsements on verso by Generals James M. Hawes and John G. Walker.
J.B. Magruder, secretarially signed retained copy of letter to General Kirby Smith. Reports on Union troop movements; "I think it probable the enemy will attack Taylor, march to Mississippi River, and send another expedition to Texas coast. . . . Gen. Taylor evidently needs reinforcements greatly and quickly." Shreveport, LA, 9 May 1864.
John B. Magruder. Autograph Order Signed. "Maj. Genl. [John A.] Wharton will . . . proceed to Longview on the Sabine where he will meet with his command if he cannot intercept earlier." Monticello, TX, 3 October 1864.
Order for the arrest of Michael Conway dated Houston, 13 November 1864, with signed endorsements on verso by Generals Paul O. Hebert and John G. Walker.
John G. Walker. Note Signed to Colonel Jack. "I intended to have gone up to Anderson today, but my wife is not so well this morning." "Col. Kirby's," 2 December [1864?].
Col. F.R. Lubbock on behalf of Jefferson Davis. Autograph Letter Signed to General Magruder. "Since the fall of Wilmington & Charleston, we will need less aid abroad, as the business will be lessened. I am instructed by the President to say that he regrets his inability to comply with your wishes." Richmond, VA, 25 February 1865, stamped as received in Houston 4 May 1865.
Letter of recommendation for a customs collector dated Bonham, TX, 22 March 1865, with signed endorsements on verso by Generals Henry E. McCulloch and John B. Magruder.
Request by a lieutenant for 60 days leave, dated at Hempstead, TX, 27 April 1865, with signed endorsements on verso by Generals John H. Forney and John B. Magruder, disapproving the request.
2 Letters Signed by Col. Ashbel Smith of the 2nd Texas Infantry guarding Galveston, plus 2 other secretarially signed reports. On 3 May 1865, Smith reported on the arrival of a blockade runner: "The Wren arrived in port this morning, bringing in several guns, cannon and a quantity of powder, and other valuable supplies. She brings late news which will be found in the mails herewith forwarded. Mrs. General Walker is among the passengers." Three days later, he wrote "The enemy's fleet off Galveston this morning consists of (16) sixteen vessels at anchor. The blockade runner Owl went to sea safely during the night." Smith was later the founding president of the University of Texas.
Finally, an Autograph Note Signed by Governor Pendleton Murrah allowing the transfer of his aide-de-camp to Magruder's staff, issued on 19 May 1865, less than a month before the arrival of Union troops.
