ALS signed “R. B. Hayes,” one page, 5.5 x 8.5, January 25, 1887. Written from Spiegel Grove, a letter to his longtime friend Thomas Donaldson, forwarding him a detailed recollection of the famous ride of General Philip Sheridan during the Battle of Cedar Creek in 1864. In full: "I hate writing an old story. Above all I hate to copy. Writing a fresh article out of a not full brain is delightful. The other thing is cold coffee. So I send you just as it came the promised Sheridan's ride. I would like a copy of it, if without too much trouble you can have a clerk or the boy do it for me. With special regards to your wife and the young folks." In very good condition, with intersecting folds and overall creasing.
Serving under Sheridan and witnesses to the General's ride was the Ohio 23rd Regiment of Volunteers, of which included future presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley. Thomas Donaldson was an Ohioan native who served in the 19th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry where he was wounded. After the war he became active in politics and worked for Hayes's first campaign as governor. Donaldson was an enthusiastic collector of Americana, including autographs and minerals. According to Donaldson's memoirs, after a ceremony at the Loyal Legion of the United States honoring Sheridan, both he and Hayes went to an after-party at the Union League Club in Philadelphia to view a portrait of Sheridan during the ride painted by Thomas Buchanan Read. Upon viewing the portrait, Hayes turned to Donaldson and said: 'Get me a copy of this lithograph; I am one of the few men who saw this ride.' In all likelihood, Donaldson, in a potential trade, asked Hayes for a written account to include in his collection.
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