Confederate Generals

Group of 9 postwar autograph letters signed from Confederate Generals Jubal Early, James Longstreet, J.E. Johnston and Beauregard. various places, 1881-1882, all to Edward Bok.

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While most letters are a simple response for an autograph, or to provide an opinion on his idea for an "American Pantheon" (all supported it), two are of particularly interesting content. 

Early, Jubal. Autograph letter signed ("JA Early')  2 pages (10 x 8 in; 255 x 205 mm). Lynchburg, 1 June, 1882, responding to a teenaged Edward Bok and addressing a controversial episode of the war, the razing of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, during the last Confederate raid into Pennsylvania. 

"There were one or more national banks at Chambersburg and the town ought to have been able to raise the sum I demanded." 

Chambersburg was a frequent stop for Confederate forces, first invaded (and raided) by JEB Stuart in 1862, the Army of Northern Virginia then passed through on its way to Gettysburg in 1863. The next year on 30 July 1864, cavalry from Early's command arrived, demanding a ransom of $500,000 in "greenbacks" or $100,000 in gold. When the citizens failed to take this seriously (in fact many laughed at the captured and then released banker who was sent by the Confederate officers to deliver the terms) a large portion of the town was razed by Brig. Gen. John McCausland. Nearly 600 buildings were burned, with some Rebels looting and burning individual homes after demanding, and often getting, ransoms from the families to spare their dwelling.

General Early's primary interest was not the ransom (he remarks here that he had no idea how much money the town might have) but intended any attack to bring upon the North the ruin of the Shenandoah Valley and its farms by Union armies. The present letter makes plain he never regretted the action, "I would have been fully justified by the laws of retaliation in war in burning the town without giving the inhabitants the opportunity of redeeming it." Yet, it backfired terribly: enraged citizens killed five of his cavalry and photographs circulated in the North of the ruined town caused many to call for reprisals against Southern civilians. And indeed General Sheridan did just that, again burning farms and barns in the Shenandoah after crushing Early's forces and completely decimating the agricultural economy of an entire region.

With:

Johnston, Joseph. Autograph letter signed ("J E Johnson") 1 ½ pages (8 x 10 in; 205 x 255 mm). Washington, 21 February 1882, giving Edward Bok details of the armistice that ended the Civil War.

"I met with General Sherman ... We made an armistice and agreed upon terms of pacification to be suggested to the two governments."  In their meeting of the 17 May 1865, General Johnston rejected Sherman's offered terms for the surrender of the remaining Confederate armies, the same terms Gen. Robert E. Lee had accepted for his command five days earlier. Johnston in fact did not want to surrender, but wanted instead for the armistice to hold and the rebel forces to disperse, with the promise not to take up arms again against the United States (though they would retain their weapons). Johnston also negotiated that state governments would be recognized by Washington as long as they supported the Constitution. The terms were very favorable to the South (Sherman believed it was Lincoln's wishes to make their return to the Union as easy as possible) but it was indeed as much a political treaty as a military one. President Johnson and his cabinet rejected the two generals' deal and threatened the destruction of all Southern forces if Johnston did not agree to the same terms as those Lee had. "... we had a second meeting in which the terms of capitulation were agreed upon, terminating hostilities in our geographic command. This, as we intended and expected, terminated the war."