Lot 1786

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Description:

THEODORE ROOSEVELT
(1858 - 1919) Twenty-sixth President of the United States who started the Panama Canal, settled the Russo-Japanese War, broke up Standard Oil and encouraged conservation. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TO AN ELDERLY CIVIL WAR SOLDIER: 'I RESPECT THE VETERAN...A HUNDRED TIMES MORE THAN ANY OTHER MAN...' Fine content T.L.S. as President on White House letterhead, 1p. 4to., Washington, Oct. 30, 1908, a patriotic show of support towards Union Army veterans, sent to G.A.R. commander and Civil War veteran WILLIAM EGGLESTON OHAVER. Responding to a previous letter from Ohaver who had enclosed a defamatory letter about veterans, Roosevelt angrily responds, in large part: 'My dear Comrade: That is a mighty nice letter of yours and I thank you for it. It is difficult for me to believe that any man of even reasonable intelligence would be influenced by such a rigmarole of falsehoods as that you enclose. I respect the veteran, as I have said, a hundred times more than any other man in this country. I think he represents on the whole higher type than any other man in this country, and he would represent a very low type indeed if such a tirade had any effect upon him. With hearty thanks for writing, believe me,...'. He signs in full at the conclusion, adding some holograph corrections in the text. Sold with the original White House transmittal envelope, addressed to a 'W.E. Ohaver' in Woodlawn, NY. Our research has found that a 'William E. Ohaver' served as the commander of Farnsworth Post 170 of the G.A.R., located in Westchester County of New York, in close proximity to Woodlawn. William E. Ohaver's gravestone, bearing the emblem of the G.A.R. and the name of the 'Farnsworth Post 170', and that he was born in 1843 and died in 1913, five years after this letter was written. A 'William Ohaver' enlisted with the 172nd Ohio Infantry in April 1864 at the age of 19 - which matches the birthdate shown on Ohaver's tombstone. Some creases, else fine. Roosevelt's father, Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., was an active supporter of the Union during the Civil War. He was one of the Charter Members of the Union League Club, which was founded to promote the Northern cause. He has not been listed as such, probably because his wife was a loyal supporter of the Confederacy, and her brothers were fighting for the Confederacy. A fascinating letter in which the sitting President sends his support and admiration to a 65-year-old veteran Union infantryman.

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August 26, 2021 10:00 AM EDT
Chesapeake City, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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