Description:

Lee Robert 1807 - 1870 Robert E. Lee stresses the value he puts on honesty in rejecting help from a self proclaimed English Naval officer War date Letter Signed, "R E Lee," 2 pages, 4.75" x 8" (sight), "H[ea]d Q[uarter]s Army [of] N[orthern] V[irgini]a," October 14, 1862 to Confederate Secretary of War George W. Randolph concerning a prospective volunteer from England. Light toning along vertical crease, minor separation at fold intersections, else very good condition. Ornately framed with double matting, a transcription accomplished on a plaque and a full-length image of Lee. Not examined out of frame.


"Mr. Edenborough the English Naval officer concerning whom I received a letter from the Secretary of State yesterday, arrived at my Hd. Qrs. today. In a conversation with him, he admitted without hesitation that he belonged to the English East India Navy, and I suppose that his assertion that he was an officer of the Royal navy was made from a desire to increase his importance. There is nothing for him to do in this army, and my opinion of his honesty is not so much affected by his statement as to his position, as to cause me to detain him. I have accordingly given him a passport to return to Richmond where he may be able to find employment, should nothing be found to attach suspicion to his character."

Edenborough was one of many eager foreigners who came to America to fight for the Confederacy. They came for a variety of reasons. Some came out of sincere loyalty to the Confederacy, others were opportunists, who, unable to secure important or lucrative posts, tried their luck in America. In this case Lee encountered a likely opportunist, as Edenborugh deliberately misstated his affiliation with the Royal Navy when he was in fact a member of the much-less prestigious East India Navy. (During the American Revolution, Baron von Steuben similarity misrepresented his credentials to appear more accomplished than he actually was‰ÛÓclaiming to be a drill master for Frederick the Great). Why Edenborough would have been sent to Lee's army is perplexing considering he would have been a greater asset to the fledgling Confederate Navy.

With a new naval school at Richmond, Lee sent Edenborough there where he might be better utilized. With strong economic ties (England was a major buyer of American cotton), a large British population in New Orleans, and widespread sympathy for the South's struggle for independence, many Englishmen played active roles in the Confederacy and remained loyal through the duration of the war. An fine letter from the early years of the war, as the Confederacy worked to build itself both on land and at sea.

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