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Civil War-dated manuscript document from the personal files of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, endorsed on the reverse in pencil, “File—J.D.,” one page, 8 x 11.5, January 31, 1865. Official manuscript transcript of proceedings in the Senate of the Confederate States of America, in full: "The Senate proceeded to consider the nomination of Robt. E. Lee to be General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States of America; and, it was Resolved, That the Senate do advise and consent to his appointment agreeable to the nomination of the President…I do hereby certify that the foregoing is a correct transcript from the Executive Journal of the Senate of this day. James H. Nash, Secretary." In addition to Davis's endorsement on the reverse, the transcript is docketed in ink by his private secretary, Burton N. Harrison: "Sect'y of the Senate. Jan. 31, 1865, Confirmation by the Senate of nomination of Rob't E. Lee to be Gen'l-in-Chief, Mem: Adjt. Genl. notified Jan. 31, 1865, B.N.H., Rec'd Jan. 31, 1865." In fine condition.
Accompanied by a letter of provenance from a previous owner, in part: "It comes from a group of Jefferson Davis presidential papers 1861-65, probably kept by his personal secretary Burton J. Harrison. They were separated from official keeping during the evacuation of Richmond on April 2, 1865 when the Confederate Government fled southward—first to Danville Va 'the new capital' and later to the Carolinas and Georgia. Somewhere en route, wagons and archives were lost or stolen despite the efforts of Gen. Samuel Cooper to keep it all intact. Provenance to me: Parke-Bernet Galleries, sale of autograph collection of Philip D. Sang of Chicago. December 2-3, 1981, lot 460, 41 items."
This document reflects a pivotal moment in the final phase of the American Civil War, when the Confederate government sought to consolidate its faltering military command amid mounting defeats and dwindling resources. By early 1865, Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman had gained decisive momentum, with Confederate armies stretched thin and key cities under threat. In response to the deteriorating situation, Confederate leadership created the position of General-in-Chief—an authority the Confederacy had avoided earlier in the war—and appointed Robert E. Lee, its most respected and capable commander, in hopes that centralized leadership might stabilize the collapsing war effort. Lee’s elevation came just months before the fall of Richmond and the Confederacy’s ultimate surrender, making the moment emblematic of the Confederacy’s last attempts to reorganize and resist in the face of inevitable defeat.
