Description:

Sherman Praises Friend & Possible Lover for Sending Her Daughter to a Convent

Signed "W.T. Sherman General" and addressed to Mary Audenried, the widow of his former aide-de-camp, Joseph C. Audenried. 4pp of a bifolium, measuring 5" x 8", St. Louis, Missouri, dated February 7, 1884. Sherman had taken Mary and her wayward underage daughter Florence under his wing and now congratulates Mary for putting Florence in a convent. The letter has flattened mail folds and separation at the lower center hinge. Light edge mat burn. Boldly signed, overall very fine.

In part:
“I have this minute returned from a breakfast at Mrs. Kelifers ([illegible] daughter) with Madam Willson who is a splendid type of woman. We go to hear her tomorrow in her new play of Giaconda. I find Mrs. Read's dispatch that you had safely deposited Florence in the convent at Manhattanville, I congratulate you in thus having solved a difficult problem. At that convent, they will make her conform to their rules and will stop her correspondence with the boys…I think you had better exercise your right to inspect those letters and notify the parties that it is your pleasure they should cease to correspond with your daughter till she is full 18 years old. If Florence has been corresponding with some boy under cover to Miss Daily Ricketts, I advise you to call on Mrs. Ricketts. Show her the enclosed sample if it be as Mrs. Read supposes, and say to her that you expect her, Mrs. Ricketts, to assist you in stopping this clandestine channel of communication. After Florence is 18 years old I would let her marry as soon as she pleases, and the natural law of maternity will soon tame her proud spirit. It is infinitely better that she should be at Manhattanville than Washington where she would worry your life out of you. It was too bad she should have spoilt your visit to Saint Louis, but by prompt action you have solved an important problem, which may in the end [illegible] the salvation of the child. The Sisters at Manhattanville have large experience with such willful girls.”

It is believed that in the summer of 1880, President Rutherford B. Hayes wrote to Sherman, asking him to pay a visit to Mrs. Audenried and give the President's condolences on the death of her husband. The two grew quite close, and it is rumored that soon after, the married Sherman and Mrs. Audenried entered into a nearly decade-long affair. Whether or not these rumors were true, Sherman became deeply involved in the lives of both Mary and her daughter Florence. It appears Florence may have gotten the last laugh, as seven years later she married a French count, Charles Marie Ludovic, Comte de la Forest-Divonne, in what would be one of the biggest weddings held in Washington. Ludovic had been serving as an attaché to the French Legation in Washington, D.C.

Joseph Crain Audenried (1839-1880) graduated from West Point in 1861 and assisted in organizing and training troops in Washington before being assigned as an aide to several generals, including Daniel Tyler, William H. Emory, Edwin Sumner, John Wool, and Ulysses S. Grant. In October 1863, Audenried was transferred to General Sherman's command, and he served as Sherman's aide-de-camp and principal assistant until his death in 1880 at age forty.

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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