American Historical Ephemera and Photography

Small archive of approx. 39 letters and dispatches spanning 1861-1864 (bulk June 1861- November 1861). Includes 3 war-date ALsS and 1 DS by Rosecrans. The remaining correspondence appears to be signed on behalf of Rosecrans in the hands of multiple Adjutants or Aide-de-Camps, and is primarily related to Rosecrans's prosecution of the early war effort in the Western Virginia Campaign. Provenance: The Forest Sweet collection.

Lot includes original signatures as follows: autograph letter signed ("W.S. Rosecrans") as Major General, to Brigadier General Henry W. Benham, regarding intelligence needed from scouts and the possible approach for seizing Cotton Hill [WV]. N.p., 8 November 1861. 1p, approx. 7 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. (creasing at folds, toning, pencil notations at top and center). -- Autograph letter signed ("W.S. Rosecrans") as Brigadier General, to Benham at "Camp Huddleson," regarding the implementation of an order which had been previously published in newspapers and already had affected Generals Schenck and Cox. N.p., 26 November 1861. 1p, apporx. 7 3/4 x 9 3/4 in. (creasing at folds, toning, pencil notations at center). -- Autograph letter signed ("W.S. Rosecrans") as Major General, to Major General Sherman, on "Head Quarters, Department of the Missouri" letterhead, regarding an order sent by General Grant directing the use of dismounted cavalry in place of infantry generals, closing with "This important depot must be secured against a traitorous armed secret organization." Letter marked "cypher" in handwritten script at top left. St. Louis, 28 April 1864. 1p, 8 x 8 1/2 in. (creasing at folds, toning, light soil). -- Document signed ("W.S. Rosecrans") as Major General. A "Certificate of Contribution" to the Great Western Sanitary Fair. N.p. [Cincinnati?], n.d. [ca 1863]. 8 1/2 x 4 /14 in. (light toning and soil).

Notable amongst the remaining correspondence is a contemporary copy of Rosecrans's 10 August 1861 telegram sent from Clarksburg, VA, to Abraham Lincoln, informing the President about the Virginia troops and offering his opinion on how troops should be organized. Rosecrans notes that he has only 13 men with military education and closes his message stating, "I stand here to cover two hundred miles of frontier with a small command of raw levies against some of the most skilled men in the Confederate service." Also notable is a contemporary copy of Rosecrans's 29 June 1861 report to General George McClellan of preliminary operations in West Virginia and encampment at Elk Creek. Rosecrans closes this missive stating, "No one, my dear general, among your general friends, has more disinterested and earnest wishes for the success of your efforts than the writer of this letter...." McClellan, who received the credit for Rosecrans's victory at Rich Mountain in July of that same year, turned over his command of West Virginia to Rosecrans following McClellan's defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run.

Additional correspondence and dispatches from the field paint a vivid picture of the race to properly equip soldiers at the onset of the war and of the maneuvering surrounding the Western Virginia Campaign. Content is associated with troop movements, supply issues, outfitting new regiments, prisoners, skirmishes, and more. Correspondents include Secretary of War Edwin Stanton; Generals Meigs, Benham, and McClellan; Postmaster General Montgomery Blair; and others.

[With:] Four loose engravings of Rosecrans.

Ohio native William Starke Rosecrans was an 1842 graduate of West Point. He came to prominence early in the war after early combat victories in western Virginia. He later commanded the Army of the Cumberland during the Tullahoma campaign and at the battles of Stone's River and Chickamauga. After the war, he moved to Los Angeles, California and became an advocate for railroad building and Mexican trade in the West before being appointed as the U.S. Minister to Mexico (1868). He later served in the U.S. Congress (1881-85), and as the Register of the U.S. Treasury (1885-93).