Lot #196

Jefferson Davis Autograph Letter Signed on Beauregard, Hood, and Sherman

Description

Recollecting the Civil War twenty years later, Davis writes of Beauregard's failures and the "little interrupted march of Sherman through Georgia in absence of Hood's army"

ALS, one page both sides, 5 x 8, October 11, 1884. Handwritten letter to Colonel Robert Scott concerning a text of his Civil War recollections, speaking of his dissatisfaction with General P. G. T. Beauregard's actions during the war. In full: "Yours of the 8th inst. has been this day received, and the enclosure compared. It is in the main correct, the alterations you will find restored by pencil erasure and interlineation. You were correct in the supposition that it was a telegram; and that together with the fact that it was addressed to one fully informed of my views, will account for its brevity. The telegram to which mine was a response, was, I believe, the one which announced a change of the plan of campaign; which Genl. Beauregard accepted at Augusta, and thence, was to proceed to execute. The last sentence of my telegram conveyed to Genl. Beauregard my dissatisfaction at the change and doubt as to the expected result. If the subject is of sufficient interest to you, to induce you to read further of it, allow me to refer to a work entitled 'Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government' Vol. 2 pp. 567 et seq. and to Genl. [John Bell] Hood's book 'Advance and Retreat' pp. 270. et seq. Hood writing after his disastrous campaign into Tennessee, and the but little interrupted march of Sherman through Georgia in absence of Hood's army, was too truthful and manly to attempt to avoid responsibility by transferring it to me, or by showing how far he would have to start behind Sherman, after he had allowed Sherman to move southward and eastward, while he (Hood) was marching to the northward and westward." In fine condition, with toning along the vertical fold.

Davis, here shows his "dissatisfaction" with Beauregard's actions during the war—a sticking point that created a great rivalry between the two men. Throughout the conflict, Davis considered many of Beauregard's plans to be impractical for an inexperienced Confederate army and lacking a grasp of logistics, intelligence, relative military strengths, and politics. In writing Colonel Scott, Davis referenced the famed "little interrupted march of Sherman through Georgia"—a Northern success, when General P.G.T. Beauregard received word that Sherman was marching on Georgia, he took command of the defenses, but did not see that his planned defense of Macon was unnecessary given Sherman's 'March to the Sea.' John Bell Hood had no men to send to engage Sherman, and Beauregard found the situation to be a disaster. It was a fact Davis here claims he told Beauregard: "The last sentence of my telegram conveyed to Genl. Beauregard my dissatisfaction at the change and doubt as to the expected result." A desirable firsthand defense from the only president of the Confederacy, still engaged in finger-pointing almost 20 years after the end of the war.

Auction Info

• Auction Title: Fine Autograph and Artifacts Featuring Animation
• Dates: #668 - Ended June 14, 2023

This item is Pre-Certified by PSA/DNA
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for $75.00

*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.