American journalist, industrialist, and businessman (1791-1875) who served as a benefactor for the Confederate Army. Fascinating pair of Civil War-dated ALSs from Duff Green, one addressed to U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, and the other to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, both dated January 1864. The letter to Lincoln, one page, 7.75 x 9.75, in full: "I enclose copy of a correspondence with President Davis. You will see that I am still laboring in the cause of peace, and hope that the measure proposed may pave the way for an adjustment of the pending difficulties, & arrest the further effusion of kindred blood. I ask the protection of a flag of Truce and an assurance from you that I shall not be arrested or required to take the oath; because, altho' I have done nothing which should subject me to either, under the circumstances it would appear to be a necessary precaution. As I am an old man and in feeble health, I ask permission to bring with me my son, Ben E. Green under the same protection."
The referenced letter to Davis, one page, both sides, 7.75 x 9.75, in part: "I went to Springfield, Ills., to see Mr. Lincoln, authorized by Mr. Buchanan, to say that if he, Mr. Lincoln, would come to Washington to aid in the adjustment of the pending issue between the North and the South, he would be received with the respect due to him as the President elect…I had an interview with Mr. Lincoln, in which he avowed his purpose to so administer the government as to give no cause of offence to the South; but I then found it impossible for him to realize the real state of the country and therefore could not accomplish the purpose of my mission…Under the circumstances it occurs to me that my relations to Mr. Lincoln are such that, in a personal interview with him, I could do much to remove existing prejudices and to correct errors of opinion and fact, and by so doing I may aid in preparing the way for the appointment of commissioners for the adjustment of the terms of peace. I therefore ask that I may be permitted to go to Washington, under protection of a flag of truce, after a full and free conversation with you on the subject, to confer with Mr. Lincoln, and thus ascertain what are his views and how far we may rely on his desire to make peace." In overall very good to fine condition, with fold splits and light stains to both letters, and some creasing to the letter to Lincoln.
During the Civil War, Green organized three iron manufacturing plants for the production of iron, nails, horseshoes, and rails in support of the Confederacy. A year removed from these letters, on April 4, 1865, near war’s end, Green reportedly met with President Lincoln aboard a U.S. Navy ship on the Virginian coast. Upon their meeting, Green refused the president’s handshake and proceeded to name him a tyrant and a murderer who engineered the Civil War. When Green had finished, an irate Lincoln offered the following response:
‘Stop, you political tramp. You, the aider and abettor of those who have brought all this ruin upon your country, without the courage to risk your person in defense of the principles you profess to espouse! A fellow who stood by to gather up the loaves and fishes, if any should fall to you! A man who had no principles in the North, and took none South with him! A political hyena who robbed the graves of the dead, and adopted their language as his own! You talk of the North cutting the throats of the Southern people. You have all cut your own throats, and, unfortunately, have cut many of those of the North. Miserable impostor, vile intruder! Go, before I forget myself and the high position I hold! Go, I tell you, and don't desecrate this national vessel another minute!’
