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Civil War-dated ALS signed “U. S. Grant, Lt. Gen.,” one page, 7.5 x 6, Head Quarters Armies of the United States letterhead, March 11, 1865. Handwritten letter to "Maj. Eckert," in full: "Mr. Washburne and party arrived here this morning. Please inform Capt. Whitney. Will you be good enough to get me a pair of No. 10 children's shoes, thick soled, and send them by the mail messenger from my office this evening." Suede-matted and framed with two portraits and a nameplate to an overall size of 22.5 x 21. In fine condition.
Grant's visitor was Illinois Congressman Elihu B. Washburne, one of his longtime political allies. Washburne had played a pivotal role in Grant’s rise, having first proposed his name for appointment as a brigadier general of volunteers in 1861, and later sponsoring the legislation that elevated him to lieutenant general and then to full general. He would go on to support Grant's presidential bid, and in return, was appointed Secretary of State and later U.S. Minister to France.
This visit in March 1865, however, held special significance. Washburne had come to deliver a presentation on behalf of the nation. Back on December 17, 1863, Congress had passed a joint resolution thanking Grant for his victories in the Western Theater and authorizing President Lincoln to commission a gold medal in his honor. Now, more than a year later, on March 11th, Washburne presented Grant with the medal, an official copy of the Congressional resolution, and a letter from the president (see: The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, vol. 14, pp. 131–32, ed. John Y. Simon). The children's shoes that Grant requests were most likely for his 7-year-old son, Jesse; both Jesse and his mother, Julia, were with Grant around this time.
The Collection of Dr. Joseph Matheu.
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