Part 18
I arrived in Congress tho detained by thunder and rain time enough to give my voice in the matter of Independence. It is now determined by the thirteen United Colonies without even one desenting Colony. We have now got through with the whole of the Declaration and ordered it to be printed so that you will soon have the pleasure of seeing it. Hand bills of it will be printed and sent to the armies, cities, county towns, etc.--to be published or rather proclaimed in form....
I have always been peculiarly interested in anything which related to the origin and history of the American flag, and I have always wanted, with my infernal and almost feminine curiosity, to find out when it was first raised. I had found references at various times to its appearance sometime during the second year of the Revolution, but could not discover the exact date in any of the items of Americana which I had collected. One day about nine years ago I was reading a manuscript, _Journal of the most Material Occurrences proceeding the Siege of Fort Schuyler_, by William Colbreath. As I turned the leaves of the manuscript my attention was arrested by the following:--
Augt 3d [1777] Early this morning a Continental Flagg made by the Officers of Col. Gansevoorts Regiment was hoisted and a Cannon Levelled at the Enemies Camp was fired on the Occasion....
This is the only authoritative account known of the first raising of the American battle flag, and it was on this day that the British troops saw for the first time the new standard of America.
Some years ago I received a seductive appeal from a Boston collector. He had purchased some wonderful books which, though they filled his shelves, depleted his purse. And yet he could still write, “Dear Doctor: Please tempt me!” How often do I wish the sirens would tempt me, especially if the little charmers were in the form of autograph letters and manuscripts relating to Lincoln and his time. Believe me, I’ll never be too old to be caught by their allure.
Of all periods in American history, none is more inspiring and dramatic than that of the Civil War. It is one of the most kaleidoscopic times in all history, with three men of outstanding character in it, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Robert E. Lee. Any scrap of material relating to them is bound to increase in value. Lincoln letters to-day are rarer than Washington’s, and nearly all of his great pieces are written in his own hand.
Of course, collectors prefer what are known as A. L. S. (autograph letter signed) instead of the L. S., or letter merely signed by Lincoln, that is, not in his handwriting but written by an official clerk. Thank God, those were the days before the typewriter, and every letter contains an intimate appeal which the machine can never give.
That puts me in mind of a good one.
About three months ago a lady came to see me in New York and asked to be shown some Lincoln letters. I used the cataloguer’s phrase and spoke of holographs, fair copies, A. L. S., and the usual rigmarole of the collector. I then exhibited before her interested eyes a letter of Lincoln’s which I treasured, because it is perhaps the only one in which Lincoln swore. It was addressed to John T. Stuart, his law partner, dated Vandalia, Illinois, February 14, 1839, and he refers to a man named Ewing as follows:--
Ewing won’t do anything. He is not worth a damn.
Your friend,
A. LINCOLN
The lady exclaimed, “I know what you mean by A. L. S. I did not understand you at first. You mean Abraham Lincoln swore!”
Americana really is the collector’s best bet. I can never be too grateful to Uncle Moses for his advice to me. I have kept zealously almost every piece relating to the Civil War, and I think that I have succeeded in the past thirty years in gathering the finest collection relating to it, except the national collection in Washington. I have such remarkable Lincoln documents as his first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, entirely in his autograph, written six months before it was finally put into operation on January 1, 1863; his famous Baltimore address, in which he gives his celebrated definition of liberty; the original manuscript of his speech about the formation of the Republican Party; and many other pieces of the greatest historical significance, which can never come a collector’s way again.
I cannot resist giving Lincoln’s speech on the party of which he was the most illustrious leader:--
Upon those men who are, in sentiment, opposed to the spread and nationalization of slavery, rests the task of preventing it. The Republican Organization is the embodiment of that sentiment; though as yet, it by no means embraces all the individuals holding that sentiment. The party is newly formed, and in forming, old party ties had to be broken, and the attractions of party pride, and influential leaders, were wholly wanting. In spite of all differences, prejudices, and animosities, its members were drawn together by a paramount common danger. They formed and maneuvered in the face of the disciplined enemy, and in the teeth of all his persistent misrepresentations. Of course, they fell far short of gathering in all of their own. And yet, a year ago, they stood up, an army over thirteen hundred thousand strong. That army is, today, the best hope of the nation, and of the world. Their work is before them, and from which they may not guiltlessly turn away.
I have spoken of the unfurling of the first American battle flag. The following is Lincoln’s beautiful acknowledgment of a flag sent him by some ladies of a patriotic society:--
EXECUTIVE MANSION
_Aug. 10, 1863_
Permit me to return my grateful acknowledgements to the fair manufacturer and generous donors of the beautiful present which accompanies their note of the 20th July. If anything could enhance to me the value of this representation of our national ensign, so elegantly executed and so gracefully bestowed, it would be the consideration that its price has been devoted to the comfort and restoration of those heroic men who have suffered and bled in our flag’s defense. We never should, and I am sure, never shall be niggard of gratitude and benefaction to the soldiers who have endured toil, privations and wounds, that the nation may live.
Yours very truly,
A. LINCOLN
I do not want to be accused of waving too often our emblem. But I must give in full two letters relating to the Confederate flag. They are not particularly valuable in a money sense, but I do not think any amount would tempt me to sell them. They are the kind that cannot fail to melt the heart of an old bachelor with a fondness for children. The first is addressed by General Leroy P. Walker, Secretary of War in the Confederate Cabinet, to General Beauregard, from Richmond, Virginia, September 14, 1861, and says:--
MY DEAR GENERAL:
The enclosed note from my little daughter was written by her without suggestion or alterations in any way, and the design for a flag is entirely her own conception. She has insisted so strongly on sending it to you that I did not feel at liberty to refuse her. I consent the more readily because I am sure you will appreciate it in the spirit in which it is sent.
She signs herself with the usual vanity of her sex, “daughter of the Secretary of War”, and this gives me the opportunity to say that my official connection with the Army is about to terminate, having tendered my resignation to the President a few days since.
What I have done in this office has been honestly done, and when the history of this war is written I feel that the laggard justice of popular approval will be bestowed.
I am etc.,
Most truly,
yr friend L. P. WALKER
And here is the second letter:--
GENERAL BEAUREGARD:--
I send you a design entirely my own for a Confederate flag. I have never been satisfied with the Confederate flag, because it is too much like that of the United States. I am a little girl nine years old and though I have never seen you I feel as though I knew you
Your admirer MATILDA POPE WALKER Daughter of the Secretary of War Richmond, Virginia. _Sept. 14._
I feel that I must return for a moment to Lincoln. Although I have letters of the greatest historical import not only from the martyr President himself but from nearly all his generals and members of his cabinet, I prefer the notebook of Surgeon C. S. Taft, who was at Lincoln’s bedside at the time of his death. You can hear in it not only the last tragic heartbeats of one of the truly great characters of all time, but the knell of a soul-stirring epoch. The meagre words that follow, extracted from the notebook, are to me more moving than all the fine writing in the world:--
The wound ceased to bleed or discharge about 5.30 A.M. and from that time the breathing was stertorous but gradually increased in frequency and decreased in strength up to the last breath, which was drawn at 21 minutes and 55 seconds after 7; the heart did not cease to beat until 22′ 10″ past 7; my hand was upon the President’s heart and my eye upon the watch of the Surgeon General who was standing by my side.
The finest character after Lincoln in the whole Civil War was undoubtedly that great gentleman and descendant of gentlemen, Robert E. Lee. From my schooldays I had read of his life of nobility and sorrow. The letter in which he resigned his commission, addressed to General Winfield Scott, who commanded the American Army, has always been to me the highest example of patriotism and the soldier’s ideal credo. The words, “save in defence of my native State, I never desire again to draw my sword,” have been indelibly impressed upon every mind. I know of no letter that I would sooner possess than this, but it was thirty years before I could finally call it my own. I give it here without further comment:--
ARLINGTON, WASHINGTON CITY P. O.
_20th April, 1861_
LIEUT. GEN. WINFIELD SCOTT,
COM. ARMY
GENERAL:--Since my interview with you on the 18th inst., I have felt that I ought no longer to retain my commission in the army. I therefore tender my resignation which I request you will recommend for acceptance. It would have been presented at once, but for the struggle it has cost me to separate myself from the service to which I have devoted all the best years of my life, all the ability I possessed. During the whole of that time, more than thirty years, I have experienced nothing but kindness from my superiors, the most cordial friendship from my companions. To no one General have I been so much indebted as to yourself for uniform kindness and consideration, and it had always been my urgent desire to merit your approbation. I shall carry with me to the grave the most grateful recollections of your kind consideration, and your name and fame will always be dear to me. Save in the defence of my native State, I never desire again to draw my sword. Be pleased to accept my most earnest wishes for the continuance of your happiness and prosperity, and believe me most truly yours,
ROBERT E. LEE
Four years elapsed. The war was over. General Lee had surrendered. The following letter, which I hold, to his old friend, General Beauregard, is one of the finest letters ever written by the hand of man.
LEXINGTON, VA.
3rd _Oct._ ’65
MY DEAR GEN.:--
I am glad to see no indication in your letter of an intention to leave the country. I think the South requires the aid of her sons now, more than at any period of her history. As you ask my purpose, I will state that I have no thought of abandoning her, unless compelled to do so.
“After the surrender of the Southern Armies in April, the revolution in the opinions & feelings of the people, seemed so complete, & the return of the Southern States into the union of all the States, so inevitable; that it became in my opinion, the duty of every citizen, the Contest being virtually ended, to cease opposition, & place himself in a position to serve the country. I therefore upon the promulgation of the proclamation of Pres. Johnson, which indicated apparently his policy in restoring peace, determine to comply with its requirements; & on the 13 of June, applied to be embraced within its provisions. I have not heard the result of my application, but since then have been elected to the Presidency of Washington College, & have entered upon the duties of the office, in the hope of being of some benefit to the noble youth of our country.
“I need not tell you, that true patriotism requires of men sometimes, to act exactly contrary at one period, to that which it does at another; & that the motive which impels them, viz, the desire to do right, is precisely the same. The circumstances which govern their actions undergo change, and their conduct must conform to the new order of things. History is full of illustrations of this. Washington himself is an example, at one time he fought against the French, under Braddock, in the service of the King of Great Britain; at another he fought with the French at Yorktown, under the orders of the Continental Congress of America, against him. He has not been branded by the world with reproach for this, but his course has been applauded.
With sentiments of great esteem
I am most truly yours
R. E. LEE
To me, Ulysses S. Grant has always been a gigantic figure. He is probably the greatest general this country has ever produced. Nowhere are his simplicity and greatness better shown than in his letters. For some reason they are not yet appreciated at their proper worth, but the time will come when their extraordinary merits will be recognized. They are written in a direct style, free of all elaboration, not unlike Lincoln’s, but without his peculiar felicity of phrase. They are the words of a soldier, not a statesman. Two of the letters which I have are, it seems to me, without parallel for conciseness and beauty. The first, written at the beginning of the war, is to his father:--
_May_ 30th, 1861
GALENA, ILLINOIS
DEAR FATHER:--
I have now been home near a week, but return to Springfield today. I have tendered my services to the government and go today to make myself useful, if possible, from this until our national difficulties are ended. During the six days I have been at home, I have felt all the time as if a duty was being neglected that was paramount to any other duty I ever owed. I have every reason to be well satisfied with myself for the services already rendered but to stop now would not do.
Yours truly,
U. S. GRANT
The second, at the war’s end, is probably the finest single document in private hands to-day, as it is the original official telegram which ended the greatest conflict in American history. Why I was allowed to get this is one of the mysteries of collecting. It should not be in the hands of any one person, but ought to be in the safekeeping of the Government. It was written in obvious haste, in his own hand, at the moment General Lee surrendered, on a page in the notebook of Grant’s orderly, General Badeau.
APPOMATTOX COURT HOUSE _April 9th, 1865._ 4.50 o’clock P. M.
HON. E. M. STANTON, SEC. OF WAR, WASHINGTON
Gen. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Va. this afternoon on terms proposed by myself. The accompanying additional correspondence will show the condition fully.
U. S. GRANT, LT. GEN.
The demand for things American is not a passing fancy. It will increase in the same way as a stone gathers moss. The prices now paid for early American furniture, pottery, glass, and pictures are but an indication of a movement yet in its infancy. Even collectors in England, such as that eminent enthusiast, Sir R. Leicester Harmsworth, Bart., are gathering objects of interest relating to this country. It is only meet and proper that Americans themselves should tenderly cherish the primal, honest, unpretentious things to which this country owes its greatness.
INDEX
Adam, R. B., 161.
_Adonais_, 25.
Agnesi, Baptista, 274.
_Agriculture of Argyll County_, 21.
Alexander, forged letter of, 121.
Althorp, Lord, 90, 91, 263.
Ambrosian Library (Milan), 271.
_Amenities of Book Collecting_ (Newton), 47.
_America, History of_ (Robertson), 20.
American Tract Society, 184.
Americana, 45, 53-58, 172-177, 253, 265-299. _See also_ Franklin and Washington.
_Amore di Florio e di Bianchafiore_ (Boccaccio), 29.
_Amoretti_ (Spenser), 148, 149, 150.
Anderson Galleries sales, 53, 95, 219, 286.
André, Major, forged letter of, 99, 100.
“Annabel Lee,” MS. of, 164, 166, 167.
_Arcadia_ (Sidney), 61.
Arnold, Benedict, letter of, 172, 173, 174.
Articles of Confederation (U. S. A.), 176, 177.
Asquith, Margot, 43.
_Autographs, A Book about_, 119.
Avery, Mary, 188.
Ayer, Edward E., 252.
_Babes in the Wood_, 195.
Bache, Benjamin Franklin, 197, 198.
Bacon’s _Essays_, 46, 50.
Badeau, Gen. Adam, 299.
Bancroft, George, 6.
“Bannockburn,” original MS. of Burns’s, 162.
Barker, Robert, 237.
_Barmudas, Discovery of the_, etc., 265.
Barnes (Berners), Dame Juliana, 30.
Battle Abbey Cartularies, 257, 258.
Baxter, Richard, 43, 79.
Beatty, A. Chester, 225.
Beauregard, Gen. Pierre Gustave Toutant, 292, 293; letter of Lee to, 295, 296.
_Beauties of the Primer_, 199.
Bellomont, Earl of, 64.
Bement, Clarence S., 8, 18, 239.
Bennett, Arnold, MS. of, 262.
Berners (Barnes), Dame Juliana, 30.
Bible, Aitken, 242.
Bible, Bamberg (Pfister), 220, 221, 229.
Bible, Baskett’s, 242.
Bible, Breeches (Genevan), 239, 240, 241.
Bible, Bug, 241.
Bible, Conqueror, 222.
Bible, Coverdale, 234, 236, 237.
Bible, Eggestyn, 231.
Bible, Eliot Indian, 78, 242.
Bible, Genevan (Breeches), 239, 240, 241.
Bible, Great, 231, 237.
Bible, Great French, 231.
Bible, Gutenberg, 17, 28, 83, 84, 89; in Mazarin Library, 211, 214, 215; the Melk copy of, 212; production of, 212, 213, 214; identification by De Bure, 214, 215; perfecting the types for, 216; copy in Eton College library, 217, 218; from the Vulgate MS., 218; copies bought by Dr. Rosenbach, 218, 219, 220; bought by James Lenox, 244.
Bible, He, 237, 239.
Bible, Jenson, 231.
Bible, King James (Authorized), 237, 238, 239.
Bible, Mainz (of 1462), 221.
Bible, Mazarin. _See_ Gutenberg Bible.
Bible, Pfister (Bamberg), 220, 221, 229.
Bible, “R”, 231.
Bible, Saur, 242.
Bible, She, 237.
Bible, Strasburg, 231.
Bible, Sweynheym and Pannartz, 231.
Bible, Vinegar, 241, 242.
Bible, Wicked, 241, 242.
Bible for the Poor, 228, 229.
Bible in English, 232-242.
Bible MSS., Codex Vaticanus, 221; Codex Alexandrinus, 221; Codex Sinaiticus, 221, 222; illuminated copies, 222, 223, 224, 225; Four Gospels, ninth century, 223; Liesborn Gospels, 223, 224; Historiated Bible of fourteenth century, 224; early Hebrew copy, 224.
Bibles, Thumb, 205.
_Biblia Pauperum_, 228, 229.
Bibliothèque Nationale (Paris), 215, 229, 245.
Bigelow, John, 141, 142.
Bixby, William K., 40.
_Black Giles_, 195.
Blandford, Marquis of, 90, 91, 128.
Block books, 226, 227, 228, 229.
Boccaccio, Giovanni, 29, 90.
Boker, George H., 6.
_Book of Hunting and Hawking, The_, 30.
Boswell, James, 14, 47, 126, 127, 128.
Botticelli, Sandro, 229.
Bowden, A. J., 81, 82.
Boyle, Elizabeth, _Faerie Queene_ presented to, 148, 149, 150.
Bradford, Thomas, 206.
Bradford, William (Governor), 281.
Bradford, William (printer), 64, 65.
Brailes, W. de, 224, 225.
Brant, Sebastian, 22.
Brawne, Fanny, letter of Keats to, 95, 96, 97.
Brazil, National Library of, 221.
Brevoort, James Carson, 267.
Brewster, Sir David, 118.
_Brief and True Relation of the Discovery of the Northern Part of Virginia, A_ (Brereton), 277.
_Briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia_ (Hariot), 275.
_Brief Description of New York First Called New Netherlands_ (Denton), 282.
Brigham, Clarence S., 288.
Brinley, Dr. George, 19, 267.
British Museum library, 50, 157, 221, 226, 244, 245, 246.
Britwell Court sale, 52, 77, 257.
Brown, Charles Brockden, 5.
Brown, John Carter, 243, 244, 267, 272, 275.
Brummell, George (“Beau”), letter of, 258.
Bry, Théodore de, 275.
Bryant, William Cullen, 6.
_Buccaneers of America, The_, 206.
Burdett-Coutts, Baroness, 27, 85, 158.
Burns, Robert, Glenriddel MSS. of, 160, 161; Adam collection of, 161-164.
California, University of Southern, 45.
_Call to the Unconverted_, 43, 44, 79.
Cambridge University library, 50, 245.
Campbell, Mrs. Patrick, 115.
_Canterbury Tales, The_, 29.
Capell collection at Trinity College, 52.
_Carlos V_ (Lope de Vega), 77.
“Carroll, Lewis” (C. L. Dodgson), forged autographs of, 111.
Cartier (Jacques) atlas, 275.
Carysfort sale, 219, 221.
Casas, Bartolomé de las, 275.
Catlin, George, 223.
Caxton, William, 29, 62; _History of Troy_, 132; _Golden Legend_, 232, 233.
Cervantes (Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra), letter of, 100, 101, 102.
Champlain, Samuel de, 66.
Charles V, forged letter of, 118; genuine signature of, 269.
Chasles, Michel, 117-121.
Chatterton, Thomas, 128, 129, 130.
Chattin, James, 198.
Chaucer, Geoffrey, MSS. of, 252; contemporary portrait of, 252.
Church, E. Dwight, 142.
Cieza de Leon, Pedro de, 275.
_Civil Law_ (Brown), 20.
_Clarissa Harlowe_, 204.
Clark, C. W., 256.
Clark, William A., Jr., 45, 80.
Clemens, Samuel L. (“Mark Twain”), 164, 165.
Clements, William L., 45.
Cleopatra, forged letter of, 119.
Cockerell, Sydney C., 224, 225.
Colbert, Jean Baptiste, 21, 24.
Colbreath, William, 289.
_Collections of Treaties_ (Jenkinson), 20.
Columbus, Christopher, 269, 270; letter of, 271, 272.
_Compleat Angler, The_, 30.
Condell, Henry, 88, 151.
Confederation, Articles of (U. S. A.), 176, 177.
_Confessio Amantis_, 252.
Congressional Library, 67, 176, 246.
_Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur’s Court, A_, 164.
Conrad, Joseph, 143, 144, 145.
Cooper, James Fenimore, 6.
Cortés, Hernando, 269, 274.
_Cosmographiæ Introductio_, 273.
Coster (Koster), Lourens Janszoon, 216.
Cotton, Rev. John, 188, 189.
Coverdale, Miles, 234, 236.
Crane sale (1913), 198, 199.
Crawford, Lord, 250.
_Cries of Philadelphia, The_, 195.
_Dailey Meditations, or Quotidian Preparations for and Consideration of Death and Eternity_ (Johnson, 1668), 77.
Dante (Foligno, 1472), 86.
Dare, Virginia, record of birth in Smith’s _Virginia_, 280.
Davies, Sir John, 52.
Day, Mahlon, 207.
De Bure, Guillaume-François, 214, 215.
De Puy, Henry F., 173, 174.
Deane, Silas, 176.
_Decades of the New World_ (Martyr), 273.
_Decameron_ (Boccaccio), 29, 90, 91.
Declaration of Independence, Gwinnett a signer of, 53, 54, 286; certified copy of, 176, 288; letter of another signer (Rodney), 288.
Defoe, Daniel, 59, 60.
Delaware’s signer of the Declaration, 288.
Denton, Daniel, 282.
Devonshire, Duke of, 89, 248, 256.
Dibdin, Thomas Frognall, 89, 90, 91.
Dickens, Charles, letters about _Pickwick Papers_, 155, 157; page from the MS., 156; a gift to British Museum, 157; _Haunted Man_, 158, 159; MS. of his last letter, 160.
_Discovery of the Barmudas, otherwise called the Isle of Devils_ (Jourdain), 265.
_Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America_ (Hakluyt), 275.
Dodd, Mead and Company, 81.
Dodd, Robert, 81, 82.
_Don Quixote_, 100.
Drake, Francis, 275.
Dreer, Ferdinand J., 105.
Drinkwater, John, 26, 27.
Drury Lane Theatre, 14.
_Dying Sayings of Hannah Hill, Junior_, 182, 186, 187.
Eames, Dr. Wilberforce, 192, 193.
Eaton, John Henry, 6.
Edmunds, Charles, 51.
Electoral Library, Mainz, 215.
Eliot, John, 43, 44, 78.
Elizabeth, Queen, dedication of Genevan Bible to, 240.
Elizabethan Club library, 50, 255.
Elkins, William M., 202.
Ellsworth, James W., 219, 273.
Emancipation Proclamation, first draft of, 291.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, Whitman’s tribute to, 152, 153, 154.