Description:

Civil War


Civil War Union General Kilpatrick Seeks Help in 1865

 

Kilpatrick, Judson, Autograph Letter Signed, to Union League of New York City, ca. July-October 1865. 3 pp., 5" x 8". Expected folds; light ink but legible.

 

Complete Transcript:

 


To the Gentlemen of the Union League of the City of New York.


Through the efforts of the friends of the Union cause in and out of my little State, we expect to carry New Jersey this fall. All south of the line running from Jersey City to Camden, is positively ours. All the money we have thus far been able to raise will be needed to pay our Speakers. We must have money for electionering purposes in the Fourth Congressional District where A. J. Rogers holds the people firm to their idols. Every vote taken from the enemy there, gives two to the Union Army. We are poor in money, but rich in energy, and devotion to the cause. We ask the loyal men of the League, who have gloriously done so much for the cause, and whose generosity is world wide, to assist us. We only ask a few thousand Dollars.


 With the highest consideration, I have the honor to be gentlemen very truly


      Your Obt Servant


      J Kilpatrick


      Major Genl. vol.

 

[The third page includes the names of sixteen donors, the amounts each pledged, and whether they had paid. The list includes William E. Dodge for $100, his son William E. Dodge Jr. for $100, Daniel Willis James for $100, George Opdyke for $100, and various others for amounts ranging from $10 to $100, for a total of $895.]

 

Historical Background:
In the 1865 gubernatorial election in New Jersey, Republican Marcus Lawrence Ward defeated Democratic candidate Theodore Runyon with 51.1 percent of the vote. Ward replaced Democratic governor Joel Parker and served in the office from 1866 to 1869. Democratic Congressman Andrew J. Rogers (1828-1900) represented New Jersey’s 4th Congressional District from 1863 to 1867, winning reelection in 1864 but losing to Republican John Hill in his bid for reelection in 1866.

 

Judson Kilpatrick (1836-1881) was born in New Jersey and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1861. Commissioned a 1st lieutenant in the artillery, he quickly became a captain in a New York infantry regiment. He became the first U.S. Army officer wounded in the war, on June 10, 1861, at the Battle of Big Bethel. By September, Kilpatrick was the colonel of the 2nd New York Cavalry regiment that he helped to raise. At the Second Battle of Bull Run in August 1862, he ordered a foolish twilight cavalry charge and lost a full squadron of troopers, revealing his aggressive and often irresponsible disregard for his men and their horses. He earned the nickname “Kill Cavalry” for his recklessness. He was jailed on charges of corruption for selling captured goods for personal profit, used political influence to gain promotions, and was accused of accepting bribes in the procurement of horses. In 1863, he commanded a brigade in the Army of the Potomac’s Cavalry Corps. Promoted to brigadier general at age 27 in June 1863, he fought at the battle of Gettysburg, again displaying bravery and recklessness. In the spring of 1864, he conducted a failed expedition toward Richmond, then transferred to the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Cumberland, under the command of William T. Sherman. He participated in the Atlanta Campaign and subsequent March to the Sea and north into the Carolinas. After the war, he received a promotion to major general of volunteers on June 18, 1865, and resigned from the army on December 1, 1865. In November 1865, President Andrew Johnson appointed him as U.S. Minister to Chile, in part as a reward for helping Marcus L. Ward win election as governor of New Jersey. Kilpatrick held the diplomatic post from March 1866 to August 1870. He was active in politics as a Republican and was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress from New Jersey in 1880. As a consolation for his defeat, President James Garfield appointed Kilpatrick again as U.S. Minister to Chile, but he died in Santiago just over four months after assuming the post. Among his descendants are Gloria Vanderbilt (1924-2019) and Anderson Cooper (b. 1967).

 

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

 

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