War-dated ALS, one page, 7.5 x 9.75, April 13, 1861. Letter to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. In full: “My friend Mr. Geo. A. Barksdale is on a visit to the States of the Confederate Republic, for the purposes of recreation and improvement. His family is one of the most respectable in the State of Virginia and possess’d of wealth and high social position—Being as will be the case, when he reaches Montgomery, a stranger in a strange land he naturally desires the favor and protection of persons of conspicuous merit and importance—Hence I presume upon the liberty of introducing him to your acquaintance—He will give you a synopsis of the condition of Virginia along with the Markets that lie before her—Mr. Barksdale is one of the Proprieters of the celebrated Gallego Mills—a descendant from one of Virginia’s best families and a gentleman of intelligence and observation—Wishing your Republic a happy issue out of all its difficulties, and a long life of & happiness to you yourself.” In fine condition, with a central horizontal fold, several vertical creases, one through a single letter of signature, mounting strip affixed to a reverse vertical edge, and scattered toning.
Former president Tyler was a delegate to the Virginia Secession Convention, which assembled in Richmond in February 1861 to determine whether Virginia should secede from the Union. When he wrote this letter on April 13, Tyler almost certainly knew of the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter of the day prior, and was present at the Convention proceedings, where a resolution was introduced calling on Virginia "to make common cause with their brethren of the confederate States, thus most unjustly assailed in a war of self-defense."
That evening, Jefferson Davis, the recently elected president of the Confederacy, dispatched a telegram from Montgomery, Alabama to congratulate General Beauregard on the first Confederate victory. "Thanks of your achievement & for your courtesy to the garrison of Sumter," he wired. Four days after this letter, Virginia seceded from the Union. Tyler voted for secession and would become a prominent Confederate, serving as a delegate on the Provisional Confederate Congress and elected to the Confederate House of Representatives. An extraordinary letter from the 10th president of the United States to the new president of the Confederacy. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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