1847/12/23

Maury, Jefferson, 1826-1895

Autograph letter signed

Title: to J.T. Mason, Secretary of the Navy re: reinstatement after drunkenness...

Suspended for drunkenness. Takes an oath of abstinence. Maury entered the U.S. Navy at 15 and passed as midshipman in 1847.

GLC08443

June 23, 1813

Gerry, Elbridge, 1744-1814

Autograph letter signed

Title: to James T. Austin

Comments on the loss of a ship, the Chesapeake. Also notes the slow progress of the Ways and Means Committee, the resignation of General Henry Dearborn for health reasons, and the recovery of President James Madison from an illness. Discusses witnessing a demonstration of "liquid fire, inextinguishable for a period, by water" by a "Mr Lloyd of Adams in Pennsylva" and the products potential for weaponry. Gerry was then vice president. Written from the chamber of the senate. One engraving of "Elmood," once the residence of Elbridge Gerry, included as collateral.

GLC00137

January 7, 1781

Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, marquis de, 1757-1834

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Walter Stewart

Writes to Colonel Stewart to ask how he is addressing a recent mutiny in the Continental Army, referred to as "the unhappy and disgraceful dispute." Also notes the expected arrival of General George Washington. On January 1, 1781, soldiers under General Anthony Wayne deserted their camp at Morristown for want of adequate food, clothing, and pay. The mutiny was later suppressed by General Arthur St. Clair; Lafayette indicates he spoke to St. Clair about the matter and is in disbelief. The letter is dated 1781 but incorrectly docketed 1780.

GLC00139

February 3, 1781

Von Steuben, Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin, 1730-1794

Letter signed

Title: to Nathanael Greene

Written by Von Steuben as the senior Continental officer in Virginia to General Greene as commander in the Southern Department. References Greene's letter of January 24, 1781. Congratulates Greene on his army's recent victory at Cowpens and in the race to the Dan River. Says the traitorous General Benedict Arnold's incursions in Virginia were causing him problems and keeping him from reinforcing Greene's army. Says the troops he wanted to send off on January 15, 1781 will not be ready until February 20, 1781. Mentions changes in his command and says General Robert Lawson will relieve General…

GLC00140

June 28, 1845

Scott, Winfield, 1786-1866

Autograph letter signed

Title: to James Cooper

Informs Cooper, a Gettysburg lawyer and former Congressman, of his presidential aspirations for 1849. Expects President James Polk to attempt to run for a second term. States that Polk and Cave Johnson, Postmaster General, conspire to remove and appoint men to office. Discusses the political appointments and aspirations of Supreme Court Associate Justice John McLean, Congressman George McDuffie, Andrew Jackson, Whig Party founder and North Carolina Senator Willie Person Mangum, Georgia General Duncan Lamont Clinch, Kentucky Senator John Jordan Crittenden, Delaware Senator John Middleton…

GLC00145

May 12, 1866

Cooper, Peter, 1791-1883

Manuscript letter signed

Title: to John Sherman

Cooper, an inventor and philanthropist, discusses disagreement between President Andrew Johnson and Congress regarding reconstruction. Suggests to Sherman, a Senator from Ohio, that Johnson and Congress require Southern Congressional members to take an Oath binding them to maintain the Constitution of the United States. Also recommends "that all persons who may at any time on the floor of Congress either advocate the right to secede from the Union, or the repudiation of the National debt, or propose any unrepublican laws ... shall be declared guilty of treason, and the party so offending,…

GLC00150

October 23, 1816

Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845

Autograph letter signed

Title: to James Monroe

Writes to Secretary of State Monroe after his successful treaty negotiations with the Cherokee and Chickasaw regarding "their claim South of the Tennessee that interferes with the [C]reek cession." Comments on difficulties with the Chickasaw, who claimed rights to lands based on treaties from 1794 and 1801. States that they "will now have good roads kept up & supplied by the industry of our own citizens, and our frontier defended by a strong population. The sooner therefore that this country can be brought into market the better." Indicates that they will create two districts and surveyed…

GLC00151

August 10, 1853

Pierce, Franklin, 1804-1869

Autograph letter signed

Title: to his brother

Writes that he is upset to hear what his brother has said about David L. Gregg, who was appointed Commissioner to the Sandwich Islands. Informs that this is the first he has heard about Gregg's Catholic sentiments and that it did not occur to him to ask Gregg about his religious opinions. Advises that maybe his brother's informants are mistaken. Postscript note to the Honorable John Aiken in Andover, Massachusetts saying that he will write to Mary soon. Written on mourning stationery.

GLC00152

24 July 1840

Van Buren, Martin, 1782-1862

Document signed

Title: [Presidential authority to the Secretary of State to affix the seal to the pardon of Charles Green, slave of Ann Seddon, Stafford County, Virginia].

GLC00153

July 4, 1823

Stone, William James, 1798-1865

Broadside

Title: Declaration of Independence [W.J. Stone facsimile on vellum]

The William J. Stone facsimile of the Declaration of Independence, printed on parchment, with Stone's imprint. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, upon discovering the fragility of the original Declaration of Independence in 1820, ordered this exact facsimile to be produced. It took Stone three years to exactly copy and engrave the handwriting on the original document. This image is the closest facsimile of the original document. As such, the Stone facsimile has become the basis for all modern facsimiles. Two hundred copies of this broadside were distributed to surviving signers of the…

GLC00154.02

January 13, 1776

Washington, George, 1732-1799

Letter signed

Title: to Col. Alexander McDougall

Washington writes that he is told that a vessel has just arrived with gun powder, which he asks McDougall to obtain. (Name is McDougall, per Fitzpatrick.)

GLC00154.03

August 9, 1974

Nixon, Richard M., 1913-1994

Typed letter signed

Title: Pardon-related: Resignation letter to Henry Kissinger (souvenir copy)

Typed letter signed by Nixon (genuine), with a Kissinger endorsement which is probably forged, per Charles Hamilton. On White House stationery.

GLC00154.10

05 September 1863

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Document signed

Title: Call for troops from Ohio

First call on Ohio. Assigns "six hundred and fifty-three as the first proportional part of the quota of troops to be furnished by the Eighteenth district of the state." Call made in accordance with the 3 March 1863 "An act for Enrolling and Calling out the National Forces and for other purposes."

GLC00158

14 November 1855

Pierce, Franklin, 1804-1869

Document signed

Title: Pardon of Christian Krouse, convicted of assault with intent to rape.

Convicted of assault with intent to rape; sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. Pardoned for "...divers other good and sufficient reasons...". (c/s William L. Marcy)

GLC00159

January 15, 1839

Fillmore, Millard, 1800-1874

Autograph letter signed

Title: to L. F. Allen

Millard Fillmore mentions trying to obtain a report from the Topographical Bureau on the estimates for the repairs of the Black Rock harbor and includes the costs. Discusses a bill concerning this harbor. Advises that he has declined to be a candidate for state comptroller and says that the only office he would be interested in is Attorney General but there is too much competition for that post. Remarks that he is happy with his present station as a member of the House of Representatives from New York. Comments on some issues concerning the house.

GLC00162.02

May 21, 1873

Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881

Letter signed

Title: to Manton Marble

Encloses a copy of the review of the Credit Mobilier affair. Calls the scandal "miserable business." Also asks Marble to read the review, stating "I have no right, perhaps to address you on the subject, but I thought you would be willing to look through these pages." Written on lined paper, and marked as personal on the upper left-hand corner.

GLC00162.05

September 1, 1891

Harrison, Benjamin, 1833-1901

Letter signed

Title: to Roberto Sacasa

Signed by Harrison as President and William Fisher Wharton as Secretary of State. Informs Sacasa, President of Nicaragua, that Romualdo Pacheco will no longer serve as United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Nicaragua due to an action of Congress "separating the States of Central America into two missions." Hopes for continued friendship between the governments of the United States and Nicaragua.

GLC00162.08

October 7, 1898

McKinley, William, 1843-1901

Typed letter signed

Title: to William R. Day

Discusses having met with Beriah Wilkins, the owner and editor of the Washington Post, who wants to be sent to Paris and attached to the U.S. Peace Commission. Wilkins feels he can be of great service to the American people and the Commission. Written on Executive Mansion letterhead with blue typewriter ink. Day was President of the U.S. Peace Commission in Paris and Secretary of State.

GLC00162.10

November 2, 1898

McKinley, William, 1843-1901

Autograph letter signed

Title: to William R. Day

Discusses Beriah Wilkins', the owner and editor of the Washington Post, upcoming trip to Paris. Tells Day that Wilkins is not seeking employment but does want to be of help, if he can be. Written on Executive Mansion letterhead. Day was president of the U.S. Peace Commission in Paris and Secretary of State.

GLC00162.11

October 29, 1932

Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964

Typed letter signed

Title: to Lewis L. Strauss

On the fifteenth anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, Herbert Hoover writes to "express the hope that the ideal of the establishment of the National Jewish Home in Palestine, as embodied in that Declaration, will continue to prosper." Also notes his admiration for the revival of Palestine through the "hard work and self-sacrifice of the Jewish pioneers." Written on White House stationery.

GLC00162.14

March 31, 1945

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945

Typed letter signed

Title: to James V. Forrestal

Franklin D. Roosevelt writes in reference to the Research Board for National Security, a group that provides for civilian participation in scientific research on problems of national defense. He informs that he is transmitting a program to Congress for the Office of Scientific Research and Development for 1946 that considers continuing the Office's activities on a two-front war basis for the year. He advises that no funds be given to the Research Board for the fiscal year 1946. He states that the director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development is responsible for the organization…

GLC00162.17

February 15, 1951

Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972

Typed letter signed

Title: to Lewis Strauss

Harry S. Truman thanks Lewis Strauss for his memoranda. Truman thinks it is crucially important to maintain good relations with Jewish, Catholic and Protestant world leaders, "As you know, I have been trying my best to organize the moral forces of the world..."

GLC00162.19

July 31, 1953

Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969

Autograph note signed

Title: to Lewis L. Strauss

Eisenhower replies to a letter from Strauss written on the same page. Strauss informs that despite headlines about the atomic powered submarines, there was no security breach. States that the news came from a report made to Congress by Strauss' predecessor on 30 June 1953. Eisenhower replies, "The only question is: was the report, in this particular, wise and necessary?" Letter written on White House stationary.

GLC00162.21

August 1, 1962

Kennedy, John Fitzgerald, 1917-1963

Typed letter signed

Title: to Lewis L. Strauss

President Kennedy praises the career of Herbert Hoover and congratulates Admiral Strauss, who was scheduled to dedicate the Hoover Presidential Library on Hoover's eighty-eighth birthday. Letter written on White House stationery.

GLC00162.24

circa 1789

Chase, Samuel, 1741-1811

Autograph endorsement signed

Title: [Petition of John Schunk to Governor of Maryland John Eager Howard].

Chase endorsed the verso and recommends the petition, as have Thomas Russell and Ly de Goodwin. Requests remission of fine for selling spiritous liquors without a license.

GLC00132