Description:

Confederacy
n.p., ca. April 1865
"Immortelle for our Fallen Heroes" Pro-Southern Manuscript Post-Confederate Surrender, Likely Written by a Woman
AM

A handwritten manuscript entitled "Immortelle for our Fallen Heroes", mourning the loss of the Confederacy and honoring the soldiers who gave their lives for her. 4pp of a bifolium, measuring 7.75" x 11.25", ca. April 1865. The author is unknown, and we believe it to be a rare, one-of-a-kind poem or speech from a Southern female sympathizer. The manuscript is a mix of original thought as well as references and quotations from popular poems such as Percy Shelley's "Adonais" (1821), Philip Freneau's "To the Memory of the Brave Americans" (1781), and Thomas Gray's "The Bard" (1757). With flattened folds and stiff creasing. Separations have been repaired with tape on the inner pages. Uneven toning throughout with scattered soiling and foxing. Unsigned.

Highlights from the piece:
"Sad, touchingly sad is the spectacle today presented by our beautiful, our beloved, our native South…A few short years ago she was the pride and the glory of the Western world, today 'none so poor as do her reverence.' Once a Queen, now a beggar, once proud and free, now, a sad and sorrowing captive; once a blooming garden, now, a mighty waste, a wilderness…Yet, though wretched and robbed, wrecked and ruined she is still rich; rich in the glorious heritage of immaculate and unsullied honor; rich in the undying fame of her revolutionary fathers; rich in the immortality bequeathed her, by her Clays and her Calhouns…"

"They died amidst their dying country's cries. They fell as they have love to fall, upon the field of Glory. Far from friends and loved ones, far from the arms of their childhood, with no dear mother, loving sister or fond wife to smooth their dying pillow, or wipe the death-damp from their brows; they sank to rest with only the sighing winds and the murmuring streamlet to chant their last sad requiem. They chose rather to die freemen than to live slaves. Sweet be their slumbers. 'But though they be dead they still live;' live in the memories and affections of their surviving comrades; live in the songs we sing, in the prayers we breath, in the stories the Southern mother tells her lisping offspring…"

"But let us draw near and gaze upon their nameless graves all clothed in beauty and garlanded with flowers. So fair; so lovely, as if they had been dropped from the viewless fingers of some passing angel. But they did not come there. The hands of women called and placed them nobly, their faint, fading emblems of unfading memories. How mournfully sad, yet how beautiful is the spectacle presented on the 26th of April throughout our stricken land as with active tears and symbol flames. The Southern woman on that day, gather with one accord to memorialize the fallen heroes of a loved, though lost-cause!...Let us continue to observe the 26th of April as 'memorial day' and nothing more will be necessary to refute the foul calumnies, the bare libels published by our unprincipled and ungenerous foes concerning the barbarity, inhumanity and uncivilization of the 'slave holding South'. (And this simple, quiet Act will live in the annals of History when they who now seek to degrade and to disgrace us with all their stolen honor and boasted victories shall have faded into oblivion or consigned to everlasting infamy. This act on the part of the Southern woman would ever rob hatred of its reason, were our enemies animated less by the spirit of friends then by political enmity…their hands were too feeble to weird the sword or hurl the lance, now when the sword id shortened, the lance broken and the flag furled is defeat, the women of the South may still testify their sympathy for the 'Cause' and love for its brave defenders…though bayonets and bastilles may temporarily suppress and overcome the proud spirit…natural to the Southern heart, yet nought even utterly subdue or crush out the influence that will spring from the graces of such men as our own brave Garrett and gallant Jones…"

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.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!

  • Dimensions: 7.75" x 11.25"
  • Medium: AM

Accepted Forms of Payment:

ACH, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Unless otherwise indicated, we do our own in-house world-wide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses that proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with a signature required option, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice. If any changes to the shipping address need to be made, you must inform us immediately.***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third-Party Shipping Option: If a third-party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third-party. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third-party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third-party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third-party shippers.

After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 10 business days following receipt of full payment for item.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

July 16, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000