Description:

WILLIAM CLARKE QUANTRILL LETTER GROUPING AND HAIR RELIC
Lot of seven items related to WILLIAM CLARKE QUANTRILL (1837-1865), Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War. After leading a Confederate bushwhacker unit along the Missouri-Kansas border in the early 1860s, he eventually ended up in Kentucky, where he was mortally wounded in a Union ambush in May 1865 at the age of 27. Includes: L.S. "John Dean", 5pp. 4to, Waukon, IA, July 31, 1879, Dean writes to his old friend Samuel Walker, sheriff of Douglas County and Union officer of several Kansas units during the Civil War. Dean gives an account of the Morgan Walker Raid in which Quantrill plans to free some of Walker's slaves with a group of abolitionists, but instead sells them out and informs Walker of the impending attack. Dean, an eyewitness, writes: "...Quantrill made a visit to the house and gave Walker the notice of the intended raid... Walker arranged a deception and when the party approached the house Quantrill moved away as arranged... when Walker's volley came into the party from the house Ball [the leader of the raiders] and Quantrill exchanged shots..." Dean goes on to describe the hunt for and killing of Ball and another of the raiders the next day. Staple holes at top left, else very good. WITH: L.S. "Maggie J. Brown", 1p. 8vo., Samuels, KY, Apr. 7, 1885, to her brother, telling him that Quantrill's mother has moved into the neighborhood. Folds, else very good. WITH: L.S. "Sam Walker", 4pp. 8vo., Lawrence, Apr. 14, 1885, Walker writes to William Walker Scott, a childhood friend of Quantrill. Walker describes cattle thefts in the Salt Creek Valley, in which Quantrill participated. He also briefly describes some of the activities of abolitionistJOHN BROWN (1800-1856) and his son in that area. Very good. WITH: an unsigned, undated memo, 1p. 8vo., relating Quantrill's murder of a man who tried to rob him while he was employed by a lumber company in Mendota, Ontario, prior to his activities in Kansas. Folds, else very good. WITH: L.S. "John Dean", 3pp. 4to., n.p., n.d., Dean writes to an old friend, presumably Samuel Walker, asking for help in requesting a pension in return for his Civil War service. At the very end, Dean makes a cryptic offer: "Now to change the subject. Have you any good reason for 'wanting' one of those devils that was at Lawrence with Quantrill when he baptized it in blood. The same one who ranked up those invalid soldiers for Cole Younger to try his new rifle upon? Say you want him and I will tell you where he is..." Cole Younger was an associate of Quantrill's, who later became a noted outlaw. Staple holes in upper left, else very good. WITH: L.S. "John Dean", 2pp. 4to., Waukon, IA, Jan. 6, 1879, Dean writes to a Mr. Scott, presumably William Walker Scott, grilling him on the particulars on Quantrill's life, with the intention of determining if he will give Scott information for a book he working on about the raider. Dean apparently doesn't realize that Scott and Quantrill were friends, and that Scott probably knew the man much better than Dean. Folds, else very good. Altogether, the archive provides a fascinating first-hand look into one of the bloodiest guerilla conflicts in United States history. Includes written typed transcriptions of each letter and professionally-researched biographies of each figure mentioned in the letters. WITH: A tiny strand of hair belonging to Quantrill, mounted on an 8 1/2" x 11" certificate, with images of the raider. Fine. Ex: John Reznikoff Hair Collection.

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May 24, 2016 10:30 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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