RR Auction Holds Civil War-Themed Auction

It is the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War and a local auction house has some rare and valuable items from the era.

RR Auction in Amherst has more than 460 items that offer an intensely comprehensive look into some of the key figures in our country’s most bloody conflict through letters, photos, and exemplary artifacts.

Esteemed notables such as Abraham Lincoln, U. S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, “Stonewall” Jackson, Robert E. Lee, Mary Todd Lincoln and the assassin who sealed the crushing, woeful fate of one of America’s most beloved presidents, John Wilkes Booth, have all been drawn together, once again, to tell their story.

This exceptional arrangement of Confederate and Union memorabilia, including pieces from George Custer, J. E. B. Stuart, William T. Sherman, and George B. McClellan, plus an array of uncommon Civil War-era weapons and other artifacts will be available for bidding March 15 through March 22.

A preview is currently available online.

Here are some of the notable pieces:

Abraham Lincoln’s eyeglasses, found in attic of the Lincoln Family Estate, Manchester, VT: Discovered in a trunk— in the attic of the Lincoln Family Estate of Robert Todd Lincoln, in Manchester, VT. The eyeglasses, which had belonged to his great, grandfather President Abraham Lincoln. Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith (1904-1985), Lincoln’s great grandson and last direct descendant, relates the history of finding the eyeglasses, in an accompanied Xerox copy of an affidavit and deed of gift dated August 17, 1977.   

A heartbreaking letter written by first lady, Mary Todd Lincoln, shattered by the loss of her son Willie: Tragedy of the starkest kind struck the White House; the news that Willie Lincoln had succumbed to typhoid fever. Devastation overcame the Lincolns, and, accompanied by its black-bordered mailing envelope, addressed in Mary Todd’s own hand and free-franked by president “A. Lincoln,” the First Lady expresses the overwhelming grip that has clutched her family in a letter dated May 5, 1862.

Jefferson Davis letter written just six days after the opening attack of the Civil War at Fort Sumter: After the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, the nation was plunged head-long into the grueling war between the states. In a rare letter written by Jefferson Davis, the newly appointed Provisional President of the Confederate States, he writes in gratitude on April 18, 1861, acknowledging the support of South Carolina’s leading role as the first secessionist state.

Rare “Stonewall” Jackson tactical call orders, instructing Ewell to move his troops for a military strike during the 1862 Shenandoah Campaign: The greatest military tactician of the Civil War, Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, exacted his terror on Union forces through this very battle order, dispatched to General Richard Ewell. This genius maneuver enabled Ewell to mislead Union forces, allowing for Jackson’s undetected strike on the unsuspecting Yankee troops, resulting in Jackson’s first victory of the campaign.

In 1861, John Wilkes Booth writes to Joseph Simonds, a friend he would later use as an unknowing accomplice in a failed plot to kidnap Lincoln: Booth, the ultimate performer, both on and off stage, pens a gorgeously large and florid signature on a letter written to Joseph Simonds. Booth made no attempts to hide his vehement disdain for Lincoln and his war on slavery, and after carrying out the heinous assassination on April 14,1865, he took his performance to the stage of the Ford Theatre, exclaiming “Sic semper tyrannis! The South is avenged!” 

One of the most popular collectibles that began during the Civil War era, carte-de-visite photographs, will also be featured. Robert E. Lee, Commanding Officer of all Confederate forces, in a rare full-length portrait in dress uniform and presentation sword. Another exceptional photo, heralded as one of the greatest of the president, captures Abraham Lincoln seated at a table with a copy of the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle in hand, boldly signed, “A. Lincoln,” compliments of skilled photographer, Alexander Gardner.

RR Auction, based in Amherst, NH has offered collectors more than 1,250 quality, fully guaranteed signed items each month, including photos, documents, letters, and books from a variety of categories.