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THBJames A. Garfield, Two Letters to Ohio Lieutenant Samuel Cole with Additional Documentation, 1866-1869
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About Auction
LiveJun 9, 2017 - Jun 10, 2017
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- Lot Description
Lot of 8. Garfield, James (1831-1881). President of the United States (1881). Featuring 2 ALsS on House of Representatives letterhead, plus 6 other letters and documents concerning Samuel Cole. Archivally framed together, 16 x 18.5 in.
The first letter is on Ways & Means Committee letterhead, dated December 4, 1866. Garfield tells Cole that it is too late to secure an appointment in the regular army, but that he would be willing to bring Cole's recommendation to the Secretary of War and help in any way possible.
The second letter is on Fortieth Congress letterhead, dated March 12, 1869. Addressed to J.D. Cox, Secretary of the Interior, recommending Mr. Cole for a clerkship.
A notebook of research accompanies the letters. In this are 6 other notes, letters, and special orders relating to Cole's service during the Civil War, including: General Order No. 3, Camp Chase, July 8, 1862, with instructions for Lieutenant Cole for requesting leaves of absence for the men of the 45th OVI; 7 x 7 in. note informing Lieutenant Cole that the next day he is officer of the guard, signed for Garfield by his AAG.
Letter to E.M. Stanton, Secretary of War, January 31, 1867. From Samuel Cole, requesting a leave for 30 days to prepare for an examination, upon which board he was currently serving as a 2nd lieutenant in the 9th US Cavalry. The board was for Examination of Officers promoted to Cavalry, overseen by Major General David Hunter (USMA 1822, Cullum #310). (Although retired from active duty in July 1866, Hunter was commissioned to the Examination Board from August 1866 to January 1868.)
Note to Lieutenant Cole, Co. F, 45th OVI from Miles Payne, Captain Co. F, 45th OVI. Camp Townsend, August 31, 1862. You are hereby ordered to take every Negro man within one mile of said camp and report him in person to me at my head quarters in said camp immediately. Said Negroes to be used to build a stockade as a defence against to attacks on the enemy and to be released to their masters as soon as said work is completed.
Letter addressed to J.A. Garfield, from J.C. Smith, Lieutenant Colonel 96th IL Infantry. recommending Lieutenant Cole for a commission as captain and ADC in the regular army. John Corson Smith was lieutenant colonel of the 96th IL, and received a colonelcy by brevet in February 1865 and brigadier general by brevet in June 1865.
Special Orders No. 248, Oct. 28, 1885, correcting Cole's status between November 3, 1864 and February 4, 1865 to captain.
Samuel H. Cole (1833-1886) was born in Union County, PA. He married twice and had four children with his second wife Kate Smith, with only one surviving into adulthood. Cole died in May 1886, and his headstone lists his rank as lieutenant, which may have been the reason for Special Orders No. 248. Kate was applying for widow's benefits, and certainly there would have been a bit more for a captain than a lieutenant (plus the pay differential for the four months listed).
Cole enlisted as a private in the 7th OVI, a 100-day regiment, on April 20, 1861, as soon as the call went out for men. Most of the unit re-enlisted in a three year unit when their term was up, but Cole returned home, and re-enlisted in the 42nd OVI in October. This unit was commanded by James A. Garfield. A mere four months into his service, Cole resigned his commission (reason not stated). He enlisted again with the 45th OVI in June 1862, but on a night raid, he rode his horse over an embankment. The horse fell on him breaking a number of bones. He resigned his commission in June 1863, almost exactly a year after he entered service.
By the end of 1863, he was again in service, this time with the 9th Cavalry. This time he contracted malaria and had his eye injured by a branch. The injury did not seem serious at the time, but later he became blind in that eye, and then the other eye. He was never able to obtain disability for the blindness (likely because it was hard to tie to the events in the field after so many years). He served in the siege of Atlanta, then Sherman's March to the Sea. He was discharged in February 1865, just before the end of the war. He appears to have not returned to Portage Co. As the letters indicate, by 1867 he was in the 9th US Cavalry, and at the time of the letter to the Secretary of War, stationed in Washington, DC.
Both with some handling marks, light surface soil. Minor edge toning. Not removed from frame for examination.Condition
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