Lot 2013
Lee, Robert E. (1807-1870), Commander in Chief of the Confederate Armies (1861-1865).
Wardate ALS as Commanding General, signed "R.E. Lee", 1 1/3 pages, datelined December 29, 1861, Headquarters Coosawhatchie, S.C., to John N. Maffitt (1819-86), Confederate Naval Captain and Blockade Runner, excellent content. "If a steamboat be necessary for the execution of the service, with which Capt. Ives, Eng. Dept, and yourself have been charged, you will proceed to Charleston, to ascertain if a suitable vessel can be assigned to you, by Brig Genl Ripley coming in that Dist. In making arrangements for conveying the steamer to the point of destination, you will exercise your judgment, as to the propriety or safety of doing so, and will take measures before hand, to ascertain whether any of the enemys vessels occupy the waters, through which you will necessarily pass. You will also notify the commander of our troops, on the route, of the time, at which you will pass their pickets, or commands, and arrange with them, if practicable, a signal of recognition. In conveying the boat to her destination, should you find it necessary to abandon her, so save the crew from capture, you are authorized to do so, and in order to prevent the boat falling into the hands of the enemy you must destroy her. A light draught boat suitable for bringing off your crew, in the latter contingency, must be prepared in Charleston." fold separations repaired, light toning, Fine.
Estimate 25,000 - 30,000
On December 20, 1861, just over a week before this letter, General Lee received notice from General Ripley that Federal warships had convoyed to Charleston more than a dozen old ships, and sunk them in the main ship channel to obstruct Confederate blockade running. Lee was infuriated, writing to Secretary of War Judah P. Benjamin, "This achievement so unworthy of any civilized nation, is the abortive expression of the malice and revenge of a people which it wishes to perpetuate by rendering a more memorable a day hateful on their calendar", referring obviously to the first anniversary of the secession of South Carolina, December 20, 1860.
At the time of this letter, the merchant man "Gladiator", loaded with Confederate supplies, was at Nassau, in the Bahamas. Heavily laden, the ship could not outrun armed Union steamers, and the Confederacy needed the stranded cargo. A plan was carried out to transfer these valuable supplies to steamers, after John N. Maffitt suggested that an attempt be made to land them at the obscure harbor of Mosquito Inlet at New Smyrna, Florida. General Lee had Mosquito Inlet fortified with a fieldwork mounting two guns, and the ships easily reached that port.
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