Description:

Keyes Erasmus 1818 - 1895 An extraordinary exchange between an intimate witness to post Civil War America and a former pretender to the throne of France. An extraordinary exchange between an intimate witness to post Civil War America and a former pretender to the throne of France. Keyes has written this letter to Louis-Philipe d'Orleans, whose father had been deposed in the Revolution of 1848. From 1861 to 1862, Louis-Philipe served as a volunteer in the United States army under General McClellan. His experience in the U.S. convinced him of republican ideals and upon his return to France in 1871 he renounced his family's claim to the throne. In 1874, he began working on his "History of the Civil War in America," which he sent to Keyes in 1883. Keyes" letter is a response to this gift. In a substantive and wide-ranging letter, Keyes discusses French and American politics and updates Louis-Philipe on fellow Civil War alumni. Keyes criticizes French republicans, whom he sees as pale in comparison to the republican founder of the U.S. "I met very few Republicans in France. I encountered many who assumed to be such, but who appeared to me like demagogues, infidels, and communists." He moves on to discuss his political support of the then recently retired general, William Tecumsah Sherman. He writes, "Sherman is ambitious and excessively fond of public attention. While he was here I gave him a dinner at which I collected as many magnates as I could find within call." He goes on to list which major figures did attend and which refused. Interestingly, Keyes continues to refer to Louis-Philipe as "your Royal Highness," even though he had given up his claim to the throne.

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