Francis Preston Blair, West Point Academy Archive Incl. Circular and Letter Mentioning The First African American Graduate, H

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American History, Featuring the Property of N...

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Jun 9, 2017 - Jun 10, 2017

Set Reminder 2017-06-09 10:00:00 2017-06-10 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : American History, Featuring the Property of N. Flayderman & Co. https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/cowans/american-history-featuring-the-property-of-n-flayderman-co-2392
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• Lot Description

  Collection of 120 items, including approx. 47 letters related to Francis “Frank” Preston Blair III mostly during his time at West Point.

  The correspondence from Blair, his family, and prominent friends of the family like General William T. Sherman and Benjamin Butler, range in date from 1873 until 1903. Additional items include military circulars, general orders, personal photographs, invitations, programs, and other items related to West Point and reunions. The 4 letters from William T. Sherman date from 1877-1881 and discuss West Point, later military service, and military decorum, while the 4 letters from Benjamin F. Butler concern Blair’s deployment and service as well as the tragic death of his son, Benjamin Israel Butler, who was a close friend to Blair. Another letter of note is from Blair’s famous father, General Francis Preston Blair Jr., speaking about West Point’s first African American graduate, Henry O. Flipper, who was one of Blair’s classmates.

  Francis Preston Blair III was one of eight children born to Civil War General, Senator, and Representative of Missouri, and the 1868 Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, Francis Preston Blair Jr. Blair certainly felt the pressure to live up to his father’s legacy, and Blair Jr. ensured his son did not forget it either. Prior to his son's entrance exams to West Point, Blair Jr. wrote to the young man: My pride and affection are bound up in you and I shall rejoice or fall deeply grieved as you shall succeed or fail in your career (Northbrook, June 1, 1873). To their relief, he passed. Blair Jr. relayed the happy news to his wife and sent the circular announcing not only their son’s acceptance but also another famous general’s son and the first African American Graduate of West Point, Henry O. Flipper. It seems that one third of the applicants failed, Ben Butler has a son in the class and I believe there are two negroes, one of them named Flipper, wrote Blair Jr. I saw in one of the papers that he passed the best examination of any of the applicants (no date, 1873).  

  His acceptance into the institution, however, did not relieve any pressure from his father or family. Although his father was extremely rebellious when he was in college, having been expelled from the University of North Carolina and Yale, he urged his son to do well. Less than a week after his son's admittance, Blair Jr. wrote: I want you to apply yourself vigorously to your studies and to make it a sort of religion with you to conform to all the rules and orders of this institution…my ruined health and our straightened circumstances make us more than ever dependent for happiness on our children…(June 6, 1873).

  Overcome by the pressure, Blair followed instructions to please his paralyzed father, but he made one great error less than one week later. Without his parents knowledge and for unspoken reasons, Blair married without their permission. The obviously unsuitable match grieved Blair so much he threatened to commit suicide in an attempt to avoid disappointing his parents. An initialed letter addressed to Clifton Springs Sanatorium (the place Blair Jr. stayed while recovering from a debilitating stroke) read, We have the painful duty to perform of announcing the marriage of your son who is at West Point. He will not speak upon the subject…Do not speak upon the subject to your son as he will kill himself…(West Point, NY, June 11, 1873). Neither Blair Jr. nor his mother Apolline wrote their son about the incident. It was dealt with quickly and quietly. The marriage was most likely annulled. There are no records of divorce or marriage for Blair at that time.

  Blair continued with his studies and developed a friendship with Benjamin Butler’s son, Ben. Like all the students at West Point, he ostracized Flipper and never spoke of him in his letters. He and Ben graduated. Although they went their separate ways after graduation, they remained close friends. Blair was stationed at Fort Hamilton and, with the help of General William T. Sherman, retained his commission while studying law at Columbia University in New York. After receiving his degree, he met a more suitable partner, Florence Price, a member of a prominent, pioneering Missouri family. Blair quit his post in 1882, married Florence, and became an assistant professor of law at the University of Missouri.   

  A year prior to leaving the army, Blair received word about the sudden death of his friend, Ben. A few months before his death, the two exchanged letters and Ben spoke about his plans to sail. His sister wrote a long, detailed letter to Blair about the days surrounding his sudden diagnosis of kidney failure and his death. Touched by his friend’s life, Blair authored a meaningful obituary and asked General Butler if he could publish it. Butler responded, Had my feelings of regard not been quite sufficiently extended to you before, as Ben’s classmate and chum, your very kind note of sympathy and [the obituary you wrote for the Army and Navy Journal]… strengthened his admiration for Blair (Boston, MA, September 23, 1881).

  Like his father, Blair lost his life after suffering a debilitating stroke in 1914. Surprisingly, West Point mentioned that he was the last surviving member of his 1877 class. West Point failed to mention that at least one of its graduates, Henry O. Flipper, still lived because he was discharged from the army on false charges by a vindictive superior officer years prior. Flipper was not pardoned from his harsh sentence until the 1990s. 

  Condition

  Most of the items are in very good condition with typical folds and toning of the paper. Some of the letters include their original envelopes. 
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