Group lot of three items signed by four Confederate Generals, including: a stock certificate for five shares of the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad Company, one page, 10.75 x 8, dated May 1, 1853, signed by Lawrence O'Bryan Branch as president and William W. Vass as treasurer. Branch (1820-62) graduated first in his class at Princeton in 1838, fought in the Seminole Wars, and later became a North Carolina Congressman. He was the senior brigadier general in Genl. A. P. Hill's Division (Stonewall Jackson's Corps), and at Antietam he saved General Lee's right flank from defeat. After the battle, while speaking with a group of CSA generals, including Generals Hill and Robt. E. Lee, he was shot through the head by a Union sharpshooter, killing him instantly. Branch is quite scarce in autograph form.
Ink signature, "C. M. Shelley, Selma, Ala,” on an off-white 3 x 7 sheet. Charles Miller Shelley (1833-1907) was a CSA brigadier general who saved Genl. Stewart’s Corps from capture at the Battle of Franklin. He later served as a U.S. Congressman from Alabama from 1882-85.
Ink signatures, "Jas. R. Chalmers, Vicksburg, Miss” and “A. M. Scales, Greensboro, N.C.,” on an off-white 5.5 x 7 sheet. James Ronald Chalmers (1831-1898) was a CSA brigadier general of cavalry who took part in the Battles of Shiloh, Murfreesboro, and Fort Pillow. He commanded all the Mississippi cavalry in Mississippi and West Tennessee and later served as a congressman from Mississippi. Alfred Moore Scales (1827-92) was a CSA brigadier general who fought in multiple battles and was wounded several times, including Gettysburg, with his Brigade taking part in Pickett’s charge. He served in the U.S. Congress before and after the Civil War, and was also governor of North Carolina from 1885-89. In overall very good to fine condition, with scattered staining to the document.
