Description:

Lee Robert

Robert E. Lee War-Dated LS 2 Weeks after Confederate Victory at Battle of Fredericksburg

 

1p letter signed by Confederate General Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), then commanding the Army of Northern Virginia, as "R E Lee / Genl" at lower right. Written in a secretarial script at army headquarters near Fredericksburg, Virginia on December 30, 1862. On cream blue-lined paper. Overall uneven toning and expected paper folds. Minor mounting traces along the right fore edge verso. Else very good to near fine. 7.75" x 9.75".

 

General Robert E. Lee wrote Colonel Henry Brevard Davidson (1831-1899), commanding officer of the military post at Staunton, Virginia, regarding some army equipment that had been inadvertently left behind. In late December 1862, the Confederates were taking stock of men and materiel two weeks after the pivotal Confederate victory at the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 11-15, 1862). Staunton, Virginia was located in the Shenandoah Valley some 90 miles west of Lee's headquarters, and was a major Confederate manufacturing, supply, and railroad hub. 

 

In full, with original spelling and punctuation:

 

"Head Quarters Army N. Va

Camp near Fredericksburg

Decemr 30th 1862

 

Col. H.B. Davidson

Comd'g - Staunton Va

 

Colonel,

 

In your letter of the 24th inst. you state that there is a quantity of baggage belonging to brigades of this army, stored in Staunton with men detailed from the brigades to protect it.

 

Please inform me what the nature and ammunt of the baggage refered to is - and the brigades to which it belongs - giving the names of the parties in charge of it - that I may be enabled to give explicit directions for its removal.

 

Very Respectfully

your Obt Servt

 

[signed] R E Lee

Genl".

 

Interestingly, a letter written the day before (December 29, 1862) by General Robert E. Lee and destined for the same recipient, Colonel H.B. Davidson, exists in the Lee Family Digital Archive. In that letter, Lee assured Davidson that he would reclaim the baggage as could spare the men: "…Directions will be given for the baggage of the different brigades of this army, and the men guarding it, to be recalled from Staunton as soon as possible. I also direct that Jenkins’ cavalry brigade be ordered to the valley, if they can be spared from the Department of Western Virginia…"

 

General Robert E. Lee had assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia on June 1, 1862. During the first six months of his command, Lee's aggressive offensive campaigns resulted in horrific casualty rates, especially after the Battles of Antietam and Second Manassas. Yet the Battle of Fredericksburg was a striking success. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia faced off against Union General Ambrose Burnside's Army of the Potomac. Burnside's ambitious strategy entailed crossing the Rappahannock River and engaging in a frontal assault all the way to the Confederate capital at Richmond. Union casualties were double that of Lee's men; a contemporary described the battle as "butchery". Burnside retreated, and Lee achieved a great military and moral victory for the Confederacy.

 

Lee's correspondent, Henry Brevard Davidson, was a fellow West Point graduate and ex-officer of the U.S. Army. Davidson was given the command of Staunton in August 1862.

 

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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