Jun 05, 2008 - Sale 2148

Sale 2148 - Lot 110

Price Realized: $ 1,560
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 400 - $ 600
A HAWAIIAN OFFICER IN THE CIVIL WAR (CIVIL WAR--HAWAII.) Archive relating to the service of William H. Dimond. 10 documents, condition generally sound. Vp, vd
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Additional Details

Unusual documentation of an Hawaiian officer working with freedmen in the Civil War. Dimond (1838-1896) was a missionary's son who was born and raised in Honolulu. Hawaii was then an independent kingdom. When the Civil War broke out, Dimond desired to serve the country of his ancestors. He was granted American citizenship and gained an appointment as a captain and assistant adjutant in the Department of the South under Gen. Rufus Saxton, working with freedmen in Beaufort, South Carolina. He served for three months, and returned to Hawaii at the end of the war. He was later appointed a general in the California militia.

Includes: Autograph Letter Signed from diplomat John E. Barnard to Abraham Lincoln, recommending Dimond for a military commission. Testifies to Dimond's success in the Hawaiian cavalry and the patriotism of Americans in Hawaii. States that Dimond was "particularly desirous of serving in the Corps d'Africa, as he considers that the highest position for the exercise of patriotism and philanthropy." Honolulu, 16 August 1864 5 official letters relating to Dimond's appointment and discharge, 1864-1865 Dimond's U.S. citizenship application, renouncing his loyalty to King Kamehameha, 16 January 1865 Manuscript Letter Signed from Gen. Rufus Saxton to Dimond. Personal letter, thanking Dimond for his services upon his resignation. Dateline reads "Head Quarters Bureau of Freedmen, Beaufort S.C." 23 June 1865 Passport issued to Dimond upon his discharge, signed by Secretary of State William H. Seward, 24 July 1865 Unidentified carte-de-visite of a Civil War soldier, presumably Dimond, taken in Auburn, NY.