Description:

Speed James

James Speed, Lincoln's 2nd Attorney General, LS to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles

 

Packet of Navy Department legal documents featuring the rare signature of U.S. Attorney General James Speed (1812-1887) as "James Speed." Other signatories include U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Charles Gilpin (1809-1891), and Navy Department Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Decks and Rear Admiral Joseph Smith (1790-1877). The letters are bound together by a metal brad in the upper left corner. In near fine condition, with expected paper folds, minor chipped edges, and isolated toning. The average document measures 8.25" x 10.25". From the Collection of Norman Boas of Seaport Autographs and recently purchased at Christie's December 5, 2017 sale.

 

The 10+pp of legal documents illustrate how the U.S. Government attempted to acquire a piece of valuable real estate in the spring of 1865. The piece of land directly adjoined the Philadelphia Navy Yard and granted access to the Delaware River. In obtaining the property from the last recently deceased owner's heirs, the U.S. Government hoped to enlarge the navy yard. An 1876 Congressional Record appraised the property at $40,000.

 

The letters in the bundle are as follows:

 

1. 1p LS dated May 5, 1865 on "Navy Department, Bureau of Yards and Docks" letterhead addressed to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles and signed by Navy Department Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Decks and Rear Admiral Joseph Smith as "Jos. Smith." Cream blue-lined college ruled bifold paper. Smith redirects Gilpin's letter to Welles.

 

2. 4pp LS dated May 4, 1865 on "Office of the U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Pennsylvania" letterhead addressed to Joseph Smith and signed by U.S. Attorney Charles Gilpin as "Charles Gilpin." Cream paper. Gilpin apprises Smith of the progress of obtaining necessary paperwork.

 

3. / 4. Two LS (one 2pp and one 1p) dated May 10, 1865 on "Attorney General's Office" letterhead, addressed to Welles and signed by James Speed as "James Speed."  Cream blue-lined embossed paper. Speed informs Welles that the legal consideration of the land title appears valid.

 

5. 3pp LS dated April 10, 1865 on "Office of the U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Pennsylvania" letterhead addressed to Joseph Smith and signed by U.S. Attorney Charles Gilpin as "Charles Gilpin, U.S. Atty --" and initialed by him as "C.G." Cream paper. Gilpin sends Smith a batch of deeds.

 

James Speed was the older brother of Abraham Lincoln's best friend Joshua (1814-1882). The elder Speed probably met Lincoln in 1841 during a visit to the family home near Lexington, Kentucky. James Speed was a fellow lawyer, having studied at Transylvania University, and he and Lincoln conversed about legal issues and swapped books. The elder Speed was an anti-slavery Whig who did not agree that Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation would result in freedom for the slaves. President Lincoln appointed James Speed his second Attorney General in December 1864 to replace predecessor Edward Bates. After Lincoln's assassination, James Speed became a Radical Republican and advocated black suffrage. James Speed resigned from the Johnson administration and returned to Kentucky to practice law and local politics. He considered Lincoln "the best and greatest man I ever knew." 

 

Provenance: Ex-Christie's December 5, 2017 sale; Ex-Norman Boas, Seaport Autographs

 

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