Description:

James K. Polk
[Washington, DC], June 5, 1848
President Polk Endorsed Letter: Prussian Mex-Am War Officer Court-martialed For Dueling! Remarkable
Autograph endorsement signed

A court-martialed Mexican-American War veteran's petition for clemency addressed to 11th U.S. President James K. Polk (1795-1849), signed and endorsed by Polk on the integral address leaf as: "Referred to the / Secretary of War, / June 5th 1848: - / J.K.P." [Washington, D.C.] Polk's autograph endorsement is on the back of a 2pp autograph letter signed by Captain Peter Basterdes, Captain of Company B, 1st Regiment of Louisiana Volunteers, dated May 28, 1848. New Orleans, Louisiana. Neatly penned on blue-lined bifold paper. The third page is blank. Docketed by the Secretary of War's office on the integral address leaf, and bearing manuscript and hand-stamped philatelic markings. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds and a few extra wrinkles. Some Ink bleed-through, with a small area of paper loss corresponding to a wax seal on the integral address leaf. Else very good to near fine. 8.125" x 10.5."

President Polk received this petition from Peter Basterdes, a Mexican-American War veteran whose military court-martial had been approved on May 15, 1848, resulting in his dismissal as Captain in the 1st Regiment of Louisiana Volunteers. The Prussian-born officer had enlisted in December 1846, thus serving over 12 months in the Mexican-American War that had just concluded by peace treaty in February 1848.

As Basterdes explains in his petition, he had been court-martialed for having violated the 25th Article of War; this was the article prohibiting officers and soldiers from fighting duels. While Basterdes does not defend his "breach of discipline," he did state that he had been provoked, and he asks Polk to restore him to his command. Rather than exercising his executive privileges and acting unilaterally, President Polk simply forwarded Basterdes' petition to U.S. Secretary William L. Marcy (1786-1857) for his consideration. It is unknown what Secretary Marcy decided to do in this case, however, Basterdes is listed in war rosters among other officers whose terms ended in July 1848. Perhaps Basterdes was able to stay with his regiment until then.

Basterdes wrote in part, with original usage:

"Your Excellency

By a special Order, dated Head Quarters Tampico Department, May 15, 1848 and signed Wm Gates Colonel Comdg, the findings of a court-martial dismissing me from the service are approved for a violation of the 25' Article of War…

I have no defence to offer, but in paliation I can merely say, that I was provoked, my feelings worked upon and my passions aroused to such a degree, that under their influence, on the impulse of the moment, I forgot to listen to dictates of reason.

I am sincerely sorry, that I should have been led to commit this breach of discipline… The disgrace now hanging over me it is not in my power to wipe off, - the honor which hard service, since December 1846, in the cause of my adopted country had gained for me, is by this totally lost, - and if the sentence is carried out, I am thrown on society and my relations an outcast, void of character and a name…"

Basterdes assures President Polk that he has recommendation letters provided by fellow officers, including regimental Colonel Louis Gustave de Russy (1795-1864), a West Point graduate, career U.S. Army officer and engineer, and veteran of the War of 1812. All three - Peter Basterdes, Colonel de Russy, and the Captain John W. Cole that Basterdes states has also provided him with a character - are listed in William Hugh Robarts, "Mexican War Veterans. A Complete Roster of the Regular and Volunteer Troops in the War Between the United States and Mexico, From 1846 to 1848" (Washington, D.C., Brentano's, 1887), p. 55. This source also confirms Basterdes' enlistment in December 1846, and lists him as having served until July 1848.

A coterie of 1st Louisiana Regiment of Volunteers under Colonel de Russy's command saw action at the Battle of Tantayuka [Tantoyuca] on July 11-13, 1847. Basterdes is not mentioned in accounts as being one of the three captains attached to Colonel de Russy's expedition to liberate American prisoners of war near Tantoyuca, about 25 miles from Huejutla, in the Mexican state of Veracruz. We might therefore safely assume that Basterdes stayed behind at Tampico, where Colonel de Russy retreated with his men after the rout which left 15 Louisianans killed, 10 wounded, and 3 missing.

The 1846 "Military Laws of the United States: including those relating to the Army, Marine Corps, Volunteers, Militia…" defines the 25th Article of War as: "No officer or soldier shall send a challenge to another officer or soldier, to fight a duel, or accept a challenge, if sent, upon pain, if a commissioned officer, of being cashiered; if a non-commissioned officer or soldier, of suffering corporeal punishment, at the discretion of a court-martial…"

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: 8.125" x 10.5"
  • Medium: Autograph endorsement signed

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