Details
LEE, EDWIN G., General, C.S.A., Confederate agent. Printed oath of allegiance signed ("Edwin G. Lee"), Richmond, Va., 14 January 1863. One page, 4to, a printed form on fine pale blue (British-made?) paper, accomplished in manuscript. Fine condition.
A CONFEDERATE GENERAL'S OATH OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE CONFEDERACY
A most unusual document, and the only instance of which we have heard of an oath of allegiance signed by one of high officer's rank in the Confederate army. The printed form is headed at top "Form of Oath." In it, Lee swears that "I Edwin G. Lee aged 26 years 7 months, born in Virginia, appointed from Jefferson Co., Virginia, do solemnly swear or affirm that while I continue in the service of the I will bear true faith, and yield obedience to the CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, and that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against their enemies, and that I will observe and obey the orders of the President of the Confederate States, and the orders of the Officers appointed over me, according to the Rules and Articles of War."
Lee (l835-l870), left the legal profession and to serve as a 2nd lieutenant in the Army of Northern Virginia, and was promoted to colonel of the 33rd Regiment. At Harper's Ferry, he was aide to Stonewall Jackson, and was active in the Valley Campaigns, the Seven Days battles on the peninsula, Second Manassas and Fredericksburg. He resigned his commission in December l862, ostensibly because of ill-health, but having "recovered" sooner than expected, was re-commissioned a Colonel in January l863 and assigned duties in Richmond. The present oath may have been required, in light of his special mission to Canada, as part of his re-commissioning. He was promoted to Brigadier General in September l864 (although his nomination was rejected in February l865). In the meantime, Lee had run the blockade and gone to Montreal, Canada, apparently on secret business for the Confederacy. Little is yet known of this period of Lee's career. Manuscripts of Lee are not numerous; the present is from a small group of Lee's papers which came into the market in recent years, from his descendants.
A CONFEDERATE GENERAL'S OATH OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE CONFEDERACY
A most unusual document, and the only instance of which we have heard of an oath of allegiance signed by one of high officer's rank in the Confederate army. The printed form is headed at top "Form of Oath." In it, Lee swears that "I Edwin G. Lee aged 26 years 7 months, born in Virginia, appointed from Jefferson Co., Virginia, do solemnly swear or affirm that while I continue in the service of the I will bear true faith, and yield obedience to the CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, and that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against their enemies, and that I will observe and obey the orders of the President of the Confederate States, and the orders of the Officers appointed over me, according to the Rules and Articles of War."
Lee (l835-l870), left the legal profession and to serve as a 2nd lieutenant in the Army of Northern Virginia, and was promoted to colonel of the 33rd Regiment. At Harper's Ferry, he was aide to Stonewall Jackson, and was active in the Valley Campaigns, the Seven Days battles on the peninsula, Second Manassas and Fredericksburg. He resigned his commission in December l862, ostensibly because of ill-health, but having "recovered" sooner than expected, was re-commissioned a Colonel in January l863 and assigned duties in Richmond. The present oath may have been required, in light of his special mission to Canada, as part of his re-commissioning. He was promoted to Brigadier General in September l864 (although his nomination was rejected in February l865). In the meantime, Lee had run the blockade and gone to Montreal, Canada, apparently on secret business for the Confederacy. Little is yet known of this period of Lee's career. Manuscripts of Lee are not numerous; the present is from a small group of Lee's papers which came into the market in recent years, from his descendants.