Sale 19BP02 | Lot 172

[CIVIL WAR - AFRICAN AMERICAN REGIMENTS] THOMAS, LORENZO. Letter signed to Governor Sprague of Rhode Island welcoming the Service of an African American Regiment.

Catalogue: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps

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Lot Details

Lot 172
[CIVIL WAR - AFRICAN AMERICAN REGIMENTS] THOMAS, LORENZO. Letter signed to Governor Sprague of Rhode Island welcoming the Service of an African American Regiment.
Washington: 15 January 1863. One page letter on the stationery of the "War Department/Adjutant General's Office/Washington" in a secretarial hand and signed in ink "L. Thomas" by Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant General, the letter addressed to "His Excellency Wm. [William] Sprague/Governor of Rhode Island/Providence, R.I." Visible area 9 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches (24 x 19 cm); matted and framed. Usual folds, handling creases and light thumbsoiling, a thin strip of the head of the verso of letter affixed to mat with old tape, two short tears at lower right are repaired with tape to the verso, one just touching the final "l" in General.
Provenance: A note on the frame verso dated 1970 gifts the letter to Judge Edelstein from David Wagstaff, Jr. and reports that the letter was part of the collection of his father of the same name, whose collection was mostly donated to West Point.
A poignant brief letter to the Governor of Rhode Island on behalf of President Lincoln: "I am instructed to say that the President will accept into the Service of the United States an Infantry regiment of volunteers of African descent, if offered by your State, and organized according to the rules and regulations of the service." Penned the same month that emancipation was put into effect, the letter is testament to Lincoln's commitment to equality in the military. Governor Sprague, the youngest state governor when elected at 29, was an ardent supporter of Lincoln and it is recorded that Rhode Island provided approximately 1,837 African American volunteers into service.


C Estate of Florence and Judge David Edelstein

Estimate: $300 - $500

Sold for $2,500 (includes buyer's premium)

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Estimate: $300 - $500

Sold for $2,500 (includes buyer's premium)

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Rare Books, Autographs & Maps

Tue, Nov 12, 2019 at 10am EST

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