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Jefferson Davis, 29 February 1828
Details
An early letter from West Point
Jefferson Davis, 29 February 1828
DAVIS, Jefferson (1808-1889). Autograph letter signed ("Jefn. Davis") to Alfred Jefferson Lewis, West Point, 29 February 1828.
Two pages, 246 x 201mm bifolium (silked, two losses from seal tear not affecting text). Addressed in Davis's hand on the integral transmittal leaf with a black “West Point Feb” cancellation.
A rare and early letter from Davis at West Point responding cautiously to a friend’s request to reproduce a set of confidential Academy regulations, apparently to aid another friend’s publication. Davis trusted his correspondent, a fellow cadet who left West Point to pursue a career in law, to "draw the proper line of distinction between the letter and the spirit of the regulations." that had yet to be "printed in the pamphlet form," nor had they "been issued to cadets, therefore it is not in [my] power to send them to you ." He was, however willing to paraphrase, including an unpublished regulation that, ironically in this instance, came close to home: "All publications relative to the Military Academy or to transactions at the Military Academy are strictly prohibited. Any professor, assistant professor, teacher, academic officer or cadet therefore who shall be at all concerned in writing or publishing any article of such character in any newspaper or pamphlet or in writing or publishing any hand-bill shall be dismissed [from] the service or otherwise severely punished." This would not be Davis's only with insubordination—two years later he would find himself under house arrest for smuggling in the whiskey that fueled the infamous 1826 West Point Eggnog Riot.
[With:] LEWIS, Theodore (b. 1803). Autograph letter signed (“Theodore Lewis”) to his brother, Alfred Jefferson Lewis, n.p., n.d. One page, 244 x 195 mm bifolium (silked, text faded but legible, loss to address panel not affecting text). “This will be handed you by Mr. Davis, a Mississippian... He leaves this University to complete his education at West Point. So distant from your home and friends, I hope you may develop a friendship for each other which will cease only in the grave...” Lewis would serve with Davis during the Mexican War (“The Early Life of Jefferson Davis,” Proceedings of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association..., Vol. 9, 1915, p. 173). Provenance: Armand Hawkins – sold to Alonzo J. Tullock, 1995 – by descent to the consignors.
Jefferson Davis, 29 February 1828
DAVIS, Jefferson (1808-1889). Autograph letter signed ("Jefn. Davis") to Alfred Jefferson Lewis, West Point, 29 February 1828.
Two pages, 246 x 201mm bifolium (silked, two losses from seal tear not affecting text). Addressed in Davis's hand on the integral transmittal leaf with a black “West Point Feb” cancellation.
A rare and early letter from Davis at West Point responding cautiously to a friend’s request to reproduce a set of confidential Academy regulations, apparently to aid another friend’s publication. Davis trusted his correspondent, a fellow cadet who left West Point to pursue a career in law, to "draw the proper line of distinction between the letter and the spirit of the regulations." that had yet to be "printed in the pamphlet form," nor had they "been issued to cadets, therefore it is not in [my] power to send them to you ." He was, however willing to paraphrase, including an unpublished regulation that, ironically in this instance, came close to home: "All publications relative to the Military Academy or to transactions at the Military Academy are strictly prohibited. Any professor, assistant professor, teacher, academic officer or cadet therefore who shall be at all concerned in writing or publishing any article of such character in any newspaper or pamphlet or in writing or publishing any hand-bill shall be dismissed [from] the service or otherwise severely punished." This would not be Davis's only with insubordination—two years later he would find himself under house arrest for smuggling in the whiskey that fueled the infamous 1826 West Point Eggnog Riot.
[With:] LEWIS, Theodore (b. 1803). Autograph letter signed (“Theodore Lewis”) to his brother, Alfred Jefferson Lewis, n.p., n.d. One page, 244 x 195 mm bifolium (silked, text faded but legible, loss to address panel not affecting text). “This will be handed you by Mr. Davis, a Mississippian... He leaves this University to complete his education at West Point. So distant from your home and friends, I hope you may develop a friendship for each other which will cease only in the grave...” Lewis would serve with Davis during the Mexican War (“The Early Life of Jefferson Davis,” Proceedings of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association..., Vol. 9, 1915, p. 173). Provenance: Armand Hawkins – sold to Alonzo J. Tullock, 1995 – by descent to the consignors.
Special notice
This lot is offered without reserve.
Further details
The Louisiana Purchase Collection of Alonzo J. Tullock (Lots 65-80)
The historical significance of the Louisiana Purchase cannot be understated. With the stroke of a pen, the addition of the vast territory west of the Mississippi nearly doubled the size of the still young United States. The purchase set the nation upon a seemingly inevitable course to dominate the North American continent while simultaneously setting the stage for the sectional disputes that would nearly destroy the Union six decades later. While much has been written on the Purchase itself, less attention has been devoted the actual mechanics of the transfer of sovereignty in the years 1803 to 1804. That story involves three powers: Spain, which had taken control of the French possessions west of the Mississippi at the close of the Seven Years War in 1763; France, which had been awarded the territory in 1800 as per a secret treaty with Spain, but had yet to assume formal administration; and the United States, which had recently lost its trading privileges in New Orleans—nearly going to war with Spain over the matter. While Napoleon's surprise offer of all France’s territory west of Mississippi rendered the prospect of war academic, the sudden acquisition presented a range of logistical issues for the federal government in Washington. Most pressing was the assumption of sovereignty and organizing a government.
In 1804 Congress designated the territory below the 33rd parallel, today the northern boundary of modern Louisiana, as the Territory of Orleans, while the lands northward became, temporarily, a district of the Indiana Territory. Thus the responsibility for overseeing the transfer of sovereignty in upper Louisiana, as it had been called by the Spanish, fell upon the governor of the Indiana Territory, an office occupied by William Henry Harrison (1773-1840), better known for his military exploits during the War of 1812 and for his single-month term in the White House that ended with his untimely death. Appointed by John Adams in 1800, Harrison enjoyed the trust of Adams' successor as well: Thomas Jefferson reappointed Harrison to the post in 1803. During his tenure, Harrison had come to know Charles DeHault Delassus (1764-1846) the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Louisiana. In 1794, the Belgian-born Delassus had been serving in the Royal Walloon Guards for Carlos III of Spain when he learned that his family had fled French political persecution and requested a transfer to the Louisiana Regiment. Upon his arrival, Governor Condelet appointed Delassus civil and military commander of New Madrid, allowing him to be close to his parents in New Bourbon. In 1799, Delassus became the lieutenant governor of Upper Louisiana. Harrison's letters to Delassus begin in March 1803, delivering news of the secret treaty that transferred Louisiana from Spain to France, and concludes with the transmittal of the first governing structure for the newly-acquired Louisiana Territory. Most notable is Harrison's letter informing Delassus of the news of the Louisiana Purchase. This letter was the first news to reach west of the Mississippi River of the momentous event.
The Harrison letters are the centerpiece of the collection assembled by Alonzo J. Tullock (1854-1904), a civil engineer and successful bridge and pier builder based in Leavenworth, Kansas, who built many of the railway crossings over the Missouri River in the late nineteenth century, as well as the construction of the major wharf at Tampico for the Mexican government. Working closely with Andrew Carnegie, Tullock was instrumental in bringing the Carnegie Library to Leavenworth. In memorializing Tullock a year after his passing, the Journal of the Western Society of Engineers recalled that despite his "exceptionally busy" professional life, Tullock was also a voracious reader and avid book and manuscript collector—who paid "particular attention to the acquisition of books and papers relating to the Louisiana Purchase and his collection of these, diligently pursued for years, was unique.” (1905, p. 553).
Tullock acquired much of his collection from the noted New Orleans antique dealer Armand Hawkins in the last decade of the nineteenth century. Hawkins acquired the Harrison letters from Emile Delassus and his mother, direct descendants of Lieutenant Governor Delassus in the 1890s.
Christie’s honored to present this important historical collection assembled over a century ago.
The historical significance of the Louisiana Purchase cannot be understated. With the stroke of a pen, the addition of the vast territory west of the Mississippi nearly doubled the size of the still young United States. The purchase set the nation upon a seemingly inevitable course to dominate the North American continent while simultaneously setting the stage for the sectional disputes that would nearly destroy the Union six decades later. While much has been written on the Purchase itself, less attention has been devoted the actual mechanics of the transfer of sovereignty in the years 1803 to 1804. That story involves three powers: Spain, which had taken control of the French possessions west of the Mississippi at the close of the Seven Years War in 1763; France, which had been awarded the territory in 1800 as per a secret treaty with Spain, but had yet to assume formal administration; and the United States, which had recently lost its trading privileges in New Orleans—nearly going to war with Spain over the matter. While Napoleon's surprise offer of all France’s territory west of Mississippi rendered the prospect of war academic, the sudden acquisition presented a range of logistical issues for the federal government in Washington. Most pressing was the assumption of sovereignty and organizing a government.
In 1804 Congress designated the territory below the 33rd parallel, today the northern boundary of modern Louisiana, as the Territory of Orleans, while the lands northward became, temporarily, a district of the Indiana Territory. Thus the responsibility for overseeing the transfer of sovereignty in upper Louisiana, as it had been called by the Spanish, fell upon the governor of the Indiana Territory, an office occupied by William Henry Harrison (1773-1840), better known for his military exploits during the War of 1812 and for his single-month term in the White House that ended with his untimely death. Appointed by John Adams in 1800, Harrison enjoyed the trust of Adams' successor as well: Thomas Jefferson reappointed Harrison to the post in 1803. During his tenure, Harrison had come to know Charles DeHault Delassus (1764-1846) the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Louisiana. In 1794, the Belgian-born Delassus had been serving in the Royal Walloon Guards for Carlos III of Spain when he learned that his family had fled French political persecution and requested a transfer to the Louisiana Regiment. Upon his arrival, Governor Condelet appointed Delassus civil and military commander of New Madrid, allowing him to be close to his parents in New Bourbon. In 1799, Delassus became the lieutenant governor of Upper Louisiana. Harrison's letters to Delassus begin in March 1803, delivering news of the secret treaty that transferred Louisiana from Spain to France, and concludes with the transmittal of the first governing structure for the newly-acquired Louisiana Territory. Most notable is Harrison's letter informing Delassus of the news of the Louisiana Purchase. This letter was the first news to reach west of the Mississippi River of the momentous event.
The Harrison letters are the centerpiece of the collection assembled by Alonzo J. Tullock (1854-1904), a civil engineer and successful bridge and pier builder based in Leavenworth, Kansas, who built many of the railway crossings over the Missouri River in the late nineteenth century, as well as the construction of the major wharf at Tampico for the Mexican government. Working closely with Andrew Carnegie, Tullock was instrumental in bringing the Carnegie Library to Leavenworth. In memorializing Tullock a year after his passing, the Journal of the Western Society of Engineers recalled that despite his "exceptionally busy" professional life, Tullock was also a voracious reader and avid book and manuscript collector—who paid "particular attention to the acquisition of books and papers relating to the Louisiana Purchase and his collection of these, diligently pursued for years, was unique.” (1905, p. 553).
Tullock acquired much of his collection from the noted New Orleans antique dealer Armand Hawkins in the last decade of the nineteenth century. Hawkins acquired the Harrison letters from Emile Delassus and his mother, direct descendants of Lieutenant Governor Delassus in the 1890s.
Christie’s honored to present this important historical collection assembled over a century ago.
Brought to you by
Gillian Hawley