Archive of five ALSs signed “F. J. Porter,” three on Spring Mountain Coal Company letterhead, dated between 1866 and 1883. One letter from 1871, in part: “Gen. Davis came in for a few minutes after you left. He is your man. See him at his office.” Another from 1871, in part: “I cannot find anything in Grand A of R. paper anything relating to Bull Run or Sigel.” In overall very good to fine condition.
After becoming one of the Union’s most promising officers during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862, a misstep with Major General John Pope in the Second Battle of Bull Run turned Fitz John Porter’s career into a shameful failure. As Confederate troops led by ‘Stonewall’ Jackson met Pope’s forces just west of the Bull Run Mountains on August 28, Pope was convinced he could isolate and defeat them before Longstreet arrived to join the battle. Porter was to strike Jackson’s right flank on August 29th, cutting him off from Longstreet, but failed to do so. The result was a disastrous and decisive victory for the Confederate Army. When Pope returned to Washington, defeated and humiliated, he urged that the failure of his campaign was chiefly due to disobedience, disloyalty, and misconduct on the part of Porter. Though Porter insisted that Pope’s orders were unclear, and that Longstreet had already arrived making the moves impossible, he was found guilty and cashiered from the army. He spent the remainder of his life struggling to clear his name. He was finally exonerated of the charges in 1878; it took another eight years before he was restored to rank of Colonel.
This remarkable collection of letters pertaining to Porter’s appeals to set aside his court martial gets to the heart of the shamed Union leader’s struggle. With numerous mentions of key figures in the crucial Second Battle at Bull Run, including Sigel, Davis, Pope, King, and McDowell, it is a truly extraordinary archive. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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