Jefferson Davis, Written and Signed Telegraph Calling for Troops to Defend the South, June 1861

Lot 103

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Cincinnati , OH 45232
United States

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American History

By Cowan's Auctions

Jun 10, 2016 - Jun 11, 2016

Set Reminder 2016-06-10 10:00:00 2016-06-11 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : American History https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/cowans/american-history-1497 Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com

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Lot Description

Jefferson Davis, Written and Signed Telegraph Calling for Troops to Defend the South, June 1861

Davis, Jefferson (1808-1889). President of the Confederacy (1862-1865) and US Secretary of War (1853-1857). ANS, 1p, Richmond, VA. June 2, 1861. Telegraph to the Governor of Georgia, J.E. Brown (1821-1894), thanking him for his troops. Written and signed by Jefferson Davis.

A defining Confederate States of America document never previously offered for sale that conveys a sense of strong excitement and optimism for the future of the emergent Southern Confederacy.

With soaring hope and measured confidence, President Jefferson Davis penned this telegraph message at the high-watermark of his personal impact upon history.

He directed his enthusiastic troop request to Governor J.E. Brown of Georgia. Aide Louis T. Wigfall telegraphed the message at 11:25 AM on June 2, 1861. Ironically, Davis would feud rather bitterly with both men as Confederate fortunes waned over time.

The telegraph reads:

Govn. J. E. Brown
Milledgeville, Ga.

Your well equipped, armed & supplied troops are to us a great relief - thanks for your zeal - send the whole five Regts. for the war - We need such troops and immediately. Their instruction can be continued in the presence of the enemy -

[signed] Jeffer Davis

Telegraphed 11:25 A.M.
[signed] L. T. Wigfall

[At this time, Wigfall was acting as an aide to President Davis.]

Elsewhere (photocopy included in this lot) Bessie Gresham wrote: “Autograph War Letters of ... President Davis ... Given me by Mrs. Taylor (daughter of Genl Wigfall – Dec 1922”.

Bessie E. Johnston Gresham Collection of Confederate Manuscripts, Photographs, & Relics

Lots 89-115

Bessie E. Johnston Gresham was born in Baltimore, MD in 1848 in a home sympathetic to the Southern cause. Union forces imprisoned one of her brothers for aiding the South, and her brother Elliott was a Confederate officer who lost a leg at the battle of Antietam. She became an ardent and unreconstructed Confederate, and, in 1887, she married Thomas Baxter Gresham, a Confederate veteran from Macon, GA. She was actively involved in the Baltimore chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and amassed a notable collection of Confederate manuscripts, photographs, and relics at the Gresham home at 815 Park Avenue in Baltimore. Most of her items were left to the Museum of the Confederacy, the Maryland Historical Society, and other institutions. This important collection of Johnston-Gresham family and Confederate-related material, was passed down through Bessie Johnston Gresham’s step-son, Leroy Gresham, before it was acquired by the consignor.

The collection features over 50 CDVs accumulated by Bessie and Thomas Gresham, offered as Lots 89-100. Some are wardate, and others were apparently acquired in Baltimore soon after the war's end. Some CDVs include patriotic inscriptions and quotations written by Bessie on reverse, which showcase her deep feeling of love and devotion to the Southern Cause.

In a June 1862 letter delivered through the Union blockade, Elliott Johnston, serving as aide-de-camp to CSA General Richard B. Garnett, mentioned collecting photos of CSA generals for his then 14-year-old sister Bessie.

In a 1926 issue of Confederate Veteran magazine, a memorial essay described Bessie's girlhood during the war:

"One of her brothers, who was on General Ewell’s staff, suffered the loss of a leg at the battle of Sharpsburg; her two other brothers were active Southern sympathizers and were under constant surveillance by Federal authorities for giving all possible aid to the Confederacy; her home was a center from which radiated help. “

"Reared in this atmosphere of deep love for our ‘cause,’ she became an ardent and unreconstructed Confederate. "

During her girlhood, Bessie was acquainted with many Southern generals and received from them letters, photographs, and autographs, as well as a number of gifts.

Condition

Some typical folds, otherwise good condition.
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