Eisenhower, Dwight David, thirty-fourth President

6 typed letters, and 1 typed manuscript, signed variously ("Dwight Eisenhower" or "D.E."), 9 pages (10 1/4 x 7 1/8 in.; 260 x 180 mm) on his personal letterhead "DDE, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania"; formerly folded, clean and fresh. In a blue half-morocco clamshell-case.

formerly folded, clean and fresh.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A warm correspondence with his biographer.

In 1964, after Eisenhower had read Stephen Ambrose's biographies of Halleck and Upton and his history of West Point, he commissioned Ambrose to write his official biography. This resulted in a two-volume work, published in 1970 and 1984, that is considered "the standard" on the subject.

In the present correspondence, Eisenhower shows his admiration for Ambrose's work and offers his help during a time in which Ambrose was Associate Editor of the Eisenhower Papers at Johns Hopkins University. The typescript included here is Eisenhower's foreword to Ambrose's history of West Point entitled Duty, Honor, Country. In the foreword, Eisenhower emphasizes the role of the Honor Code which sets West Point apart from any other military school.

Of particular interest is the letter dated 27 September 1966: "Of course I knew of President Roosevelt's desire to maintain friendly relations with the Soviets in the Spring of 1945. However, this had nothing to do with my military plans of that time. No one wanted a battle between cooperating governments and in rapidly moving situations, like the one of mid-April 1945 [referring to his decision to let the Soviets occupy Berlin by halting his own forces at the Elbe River], there could have been a number of tragic incidents because of the inability of one side to communicate or recognize the other. In these days you know a lot of killing is done when the opponents are still quite a distance apart, yet history shows that in the close-in fighting of the Civil War there were numerous incidents of troops of different units on one side fighting between themselves."

Ike remarks that he has instructed the Adjutant General of the Army to give Ambrose permission to see his personal file, and asks, after he has seen it, to call him. He refers to a set of court martial charges drawn up against him in 1920 by "an over-ambitious Inspector General" "which were thrown out by the War Department." "Because the whole thing was a blunder on his part, I see no necessity for making the thing a matter of public record."