Description:

Henry Clay
Washington, D.C., December 26, 1850
Henry Clay ALS Re: "new Regiments of mounted men" To Protect Texas, California & New Mexico
ALS

A 1p autograph letter signed by Henry Clay (1777-1852), then a U.S. Senator from Kentucky, as "H. Clay" at the conclusion. December 26, 1850. Washington, D.C. Inscribed on a single paper leaf, probably once bifold. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds, and some tiny edge chips along the left edge, else near fine. 6.75" x 8.25." Ex-Gary Coombs Collection.

Henry Clay wrote this letter to an unidentified correspondent named "G.H. Smith, Esq.," probably a Kentucky constituent. Smith was seeking assistance in securing an officer's appointment for his son-in-law in one of the "new Regiments of mounted men" once laws were passed. Clay's response is friendly, but also quite cynical; he writes about the way "things are done here," referring to Washington's system of quid pro quo.

Clay wrote in part:

"Wash.n. 26th. Decr. 1850

Dear Sir

I duly received your letter requesting my aid in procuring for your son in law the appointment of Major, in the new Regiments of mounted men, should they be authorized by Congress. No law to that effect has yet passed. But should it be, I shall be very happy to afford any assistance I can towards the accomplishment of your wishes. You know well how these things are done here, and of course how important it is to bring all the influences you can in the furtherance of your wishes.

With the most friendly recollections
I am Your friend and
Obedient Servant

H. Clay."

The need for "new Regiments of mounted men" was on top of mind recently. Earlier that month, on December 2, 1850, 13th U.S. President Millard Fillmore had delivered his first annual message to both Houses of Congress. In his address, Fillmore urged for the formation of more regiments of mounted men to protect the southwestern frontier. Fillmore explicitly cited Texas, California, and New Mexico as the areas requiring more border security. Texas had joined the United States in December 1845, but its annexation remained contested until the conclusion of the Mexican-American War in February 1848. Just a few months earlier, on September 10, 1850, California had become a state and New Mexico Territory had been inaugurated. Mounted men had played a significant military role during the Mexican-American War.

The addition of these Western states and territories suddenly added upwards of 100,000 people to the population. The shifting borders also destabilized frontier life. In order to deter "small predatory bands" of "powerful tribes of Indians" from taking White hostages, killing pioneers, destroying crops, and stealing livestock, Fillmore called for an increased U.S. Army presence. "The military force stationed in that country… is represented as entirely inadequate to our own protection… The principal deficiency is in cavalry, and I recommend that Congress should, at as early a period as practicable, provide for the raising of one or more regiments of mounted men," Fillmore said in his address.

Henry Clay was one of the most well-known politicians in the early- to mid-nineteenth-century landscape. After gaining political experience in the Kentucky state legislature, he later served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as Congressman from Kentucky and Speaker of the House. He served as U.S. Secretary of State between 1825-1829, and represented Kentucky in the U.S. Senate through most of the 1830s-1850s. Clay was also a three times unsuccessful presidential candidate in 1824, 1832, and 1844.

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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  • Dimensions: 6.75" x 8.25"
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