TLS, one page, 7.75 x 9.75, United States Civil Service Commission letterhead, May 17, 1890. Letter to publisher George Putnam. In full: “This is to introduce you to my friend Mr. M. A. Myendorff, of Helena, Montana. Mr. Myendorff is by birth a Pole, and when very young took part in the Polish uprising in ’63, and was sent to Siberia. He has been writing an account of his adventures, which were very varied and remarkable for a mere boy to go through, he being but fourteen or fifteen years old at the time. He wishes to lay them before you, and I commend him to your courtesy.” In fine condition. Accompanied by an unsigned engraving of Roosevelt.
Michael A. Meyendorff came from a family of Polish nobility and fought against Russia in the January Uprising of 1863, during which he was captured and sent to Siberia, presumably for life. Colonel Julian Allen, his half-brother, had fled Poland for America as a refugee and was serving on General Sherman’s staff in the Union Army when he heard of Meyendorff’s plight. Allen proceeded to go to Washington and petitioned President Lincoln to intercede, and soon negotiations were opened through the American ambassador and Meyendorff was turned over to the United States in 1866. While it does not appear that his memoirs were ever published, the University of Oregon holds a collection of his papers including an autobiographical manuscript. Pre-certified PSA/DNA.
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