Description:

ROBERT E. LEE
(1807 - 1870) Confederate General and commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, arguably the most brilliant commander of field armies in American history. Very early war-date A.D.S., a field order, "R. E. Lee Gen'l Com'd'g", 1p. legal folio, [n.d., ca. Sep. 20, 1861] to Col. William A. Jackson, Ordnance Officer of the 80th Virginia Militia. A rare order penned immediately after Lee's very first field command of the war - an embarrassing loss - as the general withdraws to the east. In part: "...All the surplus ammunition in [?] at the church or Fraser for which you have no transportation, you had better send by return wagons to your depot either at [?] or the White Sulpher. All surplus ammunition now in wagons send back also to your depots. Let the Army have such ammunition as is required, keep sufficient in wagons for necessary supplies...".At bottom, Jackson notes that the ordnance was turned over to a superior officer of the Army of the Kanawha on Oct. 1, 1861. Faults include splits, marginal chips, folds, some offsetting, and a small piece at center gone, yet still presentable. Tipped to a mat. Lee's first field assignment was commanding forces in western Virginia, where he was defeated at the Battle of Cheat Mountain (Sep. 12-15, 1861) and was widely blamed for Confederate setbacks. He removed to Sewell Mountain in the Kanawha River valley with the troops of John B. Floyd and Henry Wise, but he was forced to cancel the offensive operations he had planned because of low supplies and bad weather.

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February 19, 2014 11:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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