ALS as President, three pages on two adjoining sheets, 5 x 8, February 7, 1871. Grant writes to [William] Elrod, manager of Grant’s St. Louis farm. In full: “I have a letter from Judge Ling in which he says that he has obtained an order for changing Grant road as approved by you. I want to road to run as near the creek as possible so as to cut off but little land with the pasture field. I would run the road from where it now leaves the Gravois pike strait to a point in the creek about half way between the old barn and the Gravois road; thence to old barn, and so on up the creek. with about three bends in the road it could be run so as to cut off but little land and still enable me to fence with creek in with the pastures. I wish you would attend to this carefully. It will be hard to correct any mistakes now….” The Grants lived at the farm beginning in 1855; by 1870, Grant has acquired more than 600 acres of the property, which had previously been in the family of Mrs. Grant. After Grant’s death, the farm passed out of his family and eventually into the hands of brewing giant Anheuser-Busch. The company’s famed Clydesdales are today bred on the property. Mild toning, soiling, and handling wear, marginal tape remnant to first page, and faint show-through and offsetting of ink, otherwise fine condition. JSA/John Reznikoff Auction LOA and RRAuction COA.
