Description:

Just eight months after Lee's surrender, Gen. George B. McClellan, on vacation in Germany, writes to banker Russell Sturgis in London about investing in gold mines in Colorado, quoting a letter from his friend Gen. Fitz John Porter who supervised a gold mining operation in Colorado

GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN (1826-1885) Lengthy Autograph Letter Signed "Geo B McClellan," 4 full pages, 5.25" x 8", front & verso of two conjoined sheets, lightweight paper. Dresden, December 9, 1865. Folds, minor flaws. Marked "Private" by McClellan. To banker Russell Sturgis, London. Sturgis had become a partner in Baring Bros. bank in 1849 and senior partner in 1873.

In part, "Although more than 10 years have elapsed since I had the pleasure of meeting you, I trust that you have not forgotten me, and that you will excuse me for addressing you in regard to an affair of business. One of my most intimate friends, who has resided for some two years in Colorado, in charge of certain gold mines, has become the owner of large and valuable tracts of gold & silver property in that territory. He is an old comrade whom I have known intimately for nearly 25 years, & in whose integrity and good judgment o have the most unbounded confidence…" His friend was Gen. Fitz John Porter who was the superintendent of a gold mining operation in Colorado.

McClellan then quotes from letters he has received from Colorado. "My friend writes 'This property has been developed to the extent of tracing the veins throughout the claims, and all shows veins of gold bearing pyritic ore, 3 to 5 feet wide. The ore assays as high as $100 to $150 per ton, & has yielded $40 to $70 in stamp mills. The property all lies in the richest portion of the richest district of Gilpin County…'"

After the Civil War ended, General and Mrs. George B. McClellan visited Rome in the spring and Geneva in the fall, arriving in Dresden, Germany, in the late fall. Their second child, a son, was born in Dresden on November 23, 1865: future NYC Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr. Sixteen days later, Gen. McClellan wrote this letter.

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