Search Results: Titles starting with G from The Raab Collection

15/11/1887. William T. Sherman Gen. William T. Sherman was the most creative and intuitively brilliant of all the high-ranking Union generals of the Civil War. He was groundbreaking as well, as he used the practice of total warfare during his signature “March to the Sea” campaign to bring the war home to the heart of the South. Sherman’s employment of this technique exposed the weakness of the Confederacy, and also earned him the lasting enmity of Southerners. Nevertheless, he epitomized the characteristics of a master tactician, and because of his warfare tactics, the Civil War ended with a Union victory much sooner than it would otherwise have.Rose Eytinge was a Jewish American actress and author and rose to become one of the most popular female stars of the 1860s and 1870s. At 17, she embarked on her professional stage career, appearing in New York with such legendary performers Edwin Booth. She also toured Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, where President Abraham Lincoln… Read More

11/09/1833. Winfield Scott Scott, who spoke French, admits that France provided the U.S. Army systems: “Our system is founded on that of France originally published in 1791”Scott fought on the Niagara frontier in the War of 1812, was captured by the British in that campaign during the Battle of Queenston Heights in 1813, but was released in a prisoner exchange. In March 1814 Scott was brevetted brigadier general. In July 1814, Scott commanded the First Brigade of the American army in the Niagara campaign, winning the Battle of Chippewa decisively on July 5, 1814.. He was wounded during the American defeat at the Battle of Lundy's Lane (july 25), along with the American commander, Major General Jacob Brown and the British/Canadian commander, Lieutenant General Gordon Drummond. As the American army retreated across the Niagara, Scott commanded the American forces at Fort Erie, another American victory. Scott's success on the Niagara, combined with American naval victories at Lake Champlain and Lake… Read More

03/09/1852. Winfield Scott Scott fought on the Niagara frontier in the War of 1812, was captured by the British in that campaign during the Battle of Queenston Heights in 1813, but was released in a prisoner exchange. In March 1814 Scott was brevetted brigadier general. In July 1814, Scott commanded the First Brigade of the American army in the Niagara campaign, winning the Battle of Chippewa decisively on July 5, 1814.. He was wounded during the American defeat at the Battle of Lundy's Lane (july 25), along with the American commander, Major General Jacob Brown and the British/Canadian commander, Lieutenant General Gordon Drummond. As the American army retreated across the Niagara, Scott commanded the American forces at Fort Erie, another American victory. Scott's success on the Niagara, combined with American naval victories at Lake Champlain and Lake Erie, guaranteed a stalemate on the northern frontier. Scott's wounds from Lundy's Lane were so severe that he did not serve on active duty for the… Read More

14/09/1863. Robert E. Lee The first Lee battle report to Davis we have ever carried: Gen. James Longstreet’s command to the Western Theater, mentioning Stuart, Meade and Longstreet by name; a Union spy in the Confederate war departmentJEB Stuart was a key element in the successes of the Army of Northern Virginia, and there were many all the way up to June 1863. Under Stuart, the Confederate cavalry came to own the territory between the two armies, wherever that might be. Gen. Robert E. Lee always seemed to know what the Union forces were up to, and where they were, while Union commanders were constantly guessing about Lee's whereabouts and intentions. Lee came to rely on this informational advantage, perhaps analogous to modern-day air superiority. To name the battles in which Stuart played a key role is to feel again the emotion of the rising tide of the Confederacy: Second Bull Run (where Stuart managed to overrun Union army commander Maj. Gen. John Pope's headquarters and intercepted orders that… Read More

15/01/1783. George Washington Washington also congratulates Elias Dayton, one of Americas first spies, on his promotion to generalThis letter has been in a private collection for at least 75 years and perhaps much longer[embed size=""full""]https://player.vimeo.com/539210991[/embed] Charles Asgill was born in London in 1762, the only son of the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Charles. The younger Asgill insisted on entering the army contrary to the wishes of his parents. His father offered to give him a house and £3000 per year [in 2020 money, worth £480,948] if he would adopt some other profession. He refused and at the age of 17 joined the British Army, rising to the rank of captain in February 1781. Soon afterwards, Asgill was ordered to North America to fight in the American Revolution. He shipped out for America in March 1781. After Asgill joined the ill-fated army of Cornwallis, Asgill he charge of a unit and led it in a successful attack on a post held by American militia under a colonel… Read More

04/11/1847. Zachary Taylor In 1846, with the United States and Mexico at war, General Zachary Taylor established a base of operations at Camargo, on the Rio Grande, while he awaited reinforcements from the War Department, which had issued a call for volunteers. In September 1846, his army now numbering 6,500, Taylor marched south to lay siege to Monterrey, Mexico's largest northern city, which was garrisoned by its 5,000-man Army of the North, commanded by General Pedro Ampudia. After three days of fighting, Taylor took the city, setting off celebrations throughout the United States. In early 1847, Taylor pushed south, encountering the Mexican army at Buena Vista, below Saltillo. Taylor's army repulsed several Mexican assaults on February 22 and 23. Although both sides claimed victory, the battle ended in a stalemate. Nonetheless, Taylor's Army of Occupation remained firmly in control of northern Mexico, and the battle was hailed as a great victory by the American press.Then Taylor returned to… Read More

30/07/1782. George Washington Originally obtained by us direct from the Glover descendants and has long by in a private collection.https://vimeo.com/881750155?share=copy Before the Revolution, from his base in Marblehead, Massachusetts, John Glover was engaged in the profitable import-export trade with the West Indies and the Iberian peninsula . He developed a thorough knowledge of the sea and the men who spent their lives on it. He was also in command of he town’s militia, and following the battle at Bunker Hill on June 17 , 1775, Glover marched his regiment to Cambridge and joined the army besieging the British in Boston.On taking command of the American army in July 1775, George Washington decided to tighten the siege by intercepting British supply vessels. He sought Glover's advice in this matter and in August Washington chartered Glover's schooner Hannah. She was armed and sent to sea, becoming the first of several vessels Washington would use for this purpose.At the start of 1776, the… Read More

19/10/1847. Zachary Taylor On February 23, 1847, at the Battle of Buena Vista near Monterrey in northern Mexico, more than 15,000 Mexican troops charged U.S. General Zachary Taylor's small command of soldiers. Using heavy artillery, the general's 5,000 men turned back the Mexican army led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. By nightfall, the Mexican army retreated. This battle did not end the Mexican War, but, though no one knew it at the time, it effectively ended the fighting in northern Mexico.During the Mexican War, Virginia Governor William Smith appointed Colonel John F. Hamtramck Colonel of the 1st Virginia Volunteer Regiment. Hamtramck had served under Taylor during the War of 1812. He and the other new regiment’s officers arrived in Richmond in January 1847. The regiment shipped out in February, and after an arduous trip at sea arrived in Mexico in March. There they heard of Taylor’s victory at Buena Vista. The unit ended up at Camargo in northern Mexico as part of Taylor’s Army of… Read More

31/12/1943. Dwight D. Eisenhower He says this in his farewell letter to Free French Leader Henri Giraud, once an American favorite but who had been squeezed out of power by Charles de GaulleIke regrets Giraud’s demotion, but stresses his new work doing the “very many and important tasks you have in creating a balanced military fighting machine. Again permit me to express my regret and to wish you every success.”Henri Giraud commanded the French 9th Army during the Battle of France and was taken prisoner on May 18, 1940. He escaped confinement in Konigstein, Germany in April 1942 and made his way to Vichy. He supported Petain's National Revolution but refused to collaborate with the Germans. Giraud escaped and was picked up by a British submarine and taken to Gibraltar on the eve of the Allied landings in North Africa. The Americans, who were put off by Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French, were anxious to find an alternative to him and planned to install Giraud as governor and commander… Read More

30/10/1945. Dwight D. Eisenhower During World War II, Ike received requests for him to send one of his sleeve patches as a souvenir. He never seems to have had one on hand, but instead sent a printed color facsimile patch, with a description of its meaning below the image, and which he signed above the description. The description makes clear that the sword on the insignia “represents avenging justice by which the enemy power will be broken in Nazi-dominated Europe”. The black background represents Nazi oppression, and the rainbow above is emblematic of hope.Miss Martha Wiedermann was one of those who wrote asking for a patch. Eisenhower responded by sending her this printed color facsimile patch, signed above the description. The envelope is still present, postmarked October 30, 1945, just after hostilities ceased. Affixed to a light board.This is just the second Eisenhower sleeve patch we have carried in all these years. The other Ike had sent to his brother.

31/10/1780. George Washington He orders the American Superintendent of British prisoners who surrendered at Saratoga to implement the arrangement This shows a kindly side of Washington, concerned with the welfare of the two Hessian generals being released Rare, this being our first Washington letter on prisoner exchanges made all the better by his mentioning Clintonhttps://vimeo.com/916157365?share=copy The decisive American victory at the Battle of Saratoga October 18, 1777 led to the surrender of General John Burgoyne's army of British and German soldiers. Burgoyne's surrender played a decisive role in bringing France formally into the war as an American ally.The surrender of Burgoyne to General Horatio Gates at Saratoga placed nearly 6,000 British and Hessian prisoners of war in the hands of the Continental Congress. According to the terms of their surrender, written in a document agreed upon by both sides, entitled the “Convention of Saratoga,” the prisoners were to be marched… Read More

2/10/92. George H.W. Bush October 1992 was the home stretch of the re-election campaign of President George HW Bush.  Although he had successfully managed and won the war in Iraq, a flagging economy and strong challenge from Governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton did not bode well.  And on October 1, Ross Perot, who had announced his candidacy in February and then withdrawn in July, re-entered the campaign, meaning there would be a challenge of a third party likely to draw votes away from Bush.Bush had a close friend and political backer who helped him during campaign season, and whom he appointed to the American Battle Monuments Commission. This backer had a young son with Cystic Fibrosis who had hit a rough patch and needed surgery.During this trying and busy time, Bush took the time out from his hectic schedule to write this sick boy, who was just 14 at the time.  Autograph letter signed, on White House letterhead, Washington, October 2, 1992. ""Dear Billy, Your dad is my friend. He told me you're… Read More

18/08/1988. George H.W. Bush Lee Atwater engineered Bush’s come-from-behind victory in the 1988 election. After a short tutelage as a Republican election consultant in his native South Carolina, where he got a reputation as an take-no-prisoners campaigner, he went to Washington and became an aide in the Reagan administration, working under political director Ed Rollins. In 1984, Rollins managed Reagan's re-election campaign, and Atwater became the campaign's deputy director and political director. Rollins later described Atwater as ""ruthless”. During those years in Washington, Atwater became aligned with Vice President George H.W. Bush, who chose him as his campaign manager for his 1988 presidential bid. Atwater developed a particularly aggressive media program featuring television advertisements designed to implement the Republican “Southern strategy” by playing on racial fears - the Willie Horton ads - and the idea that Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis was a lightweight unqualified to… Read More

12/12/97. George H.W. Bush Colin Powell was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff throughout the Bush presidency. During that time, he worked closely with the President on almost a daily basis, and oversaw 28 crises, including the invasion of Panama in 1989 to remove General Manuel Noriega from power and Operation Desert Storm in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Powell was Secretary of State for Bush’s son George W. during his first term, in which the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq took place.Sarwar A. Kashmeri is a specialist and commentator on U.S.-European relations, and fellow of the Foreign Policy Association. He is the author of “America and Europe After 9/11 and Iraq: The Great Divide”, and “NATO 2.0: Reboot or Delete?”, in which he provides insights into NATO and the future of the transatlantic alliance. In his travels and research, he has met, interviewed and worked with numerous world leaders, including British prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and U.S. President… Read More

18/01/1990. George H.W. Bush I will never ever forget your courage, your family love, your pride in your fallen son - your faith, your just plain classJust days after James Markell died in Operation Just Cause (the overthrow and capture of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega), the President came to Cincinnati to address the Chamber of Commerce and met with the family privately at the Hyatt Hotel where he was speaking. A few weeks later, a note arrived from the President.  It is a very uncommon, important ALS as President. Autograph Letter Signed, The White House, January 18, 1990, to Sandra Rouse. “I am so glad we met. I will never ever forget your courage, your family love, your pride in your fallen son - your faith, your just plain class.  With best wishes, Sincerely George Bush.”        

03/08/1770. George Washington This document passed from George Washington's personal file, to another signatory of this document, Fielding Lewis, to his son, and then as a gift to his wife The land was the soldiers' reward for his service in the French and Indian WarWashington’s involvement in the French and Indian War, in which he served as lieutenant colonel of the newly formed Virginia Regiment, was due in part to the backcountry knowledge and map-making skills he had gained from surveying. But by the time that war ended, he had made a name for himself. In 1753, before the war, he was chosen to deliver an ultimatum to the French at Fort Le Boeuf, insisting that they withdraw from the valley. When his report of this venture, “The Journal of Major George Washington”, was printed in Williamsburg and then reprinted in London, it catapulted him onto the world stage.The war broke out in 1754, and Virginia Governor Dinwiddie issued a proclamation designed to encourage enlistment in the local… Read More

11/11/06. Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini was a Italian composer, who left us some of the great operatic works, including La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), Madama Butterfly (1904), and Turandot.In late 1906, a girl wrote to Puccini, sending her photograph, and asking for one from Puccini. He apparently knew her family and responded with this Autograph letter signed, November 11, 1906, Paris, on Grand Hotel de Londres letterhead. ""Dear Miss, A thousand and thousand thanks for your photography.  I will reciprocate as soon as I receive one from the photographer - at present I don't have one - but the first one that I shall receive will be yours.  My respects to your dear mother.""

14/09/1780. Thomas Jefferson An extraordinary letter, wherein Jefferson positions himself in relation to news from his state to the General of the Continental Army It also shows the remarkably challenging proposition of keeping charge of such a large and hostile armyJefferson and the Convention troopsThe surrender of General Burgoyne to General Gates at Saratoga, N.Y. on October 18, 1777, placed nearly 6,000 British and Hessian prisoners of war in the hands of the Continental Congress. According to the terms of their surrender, written in a document entitled the “Convention of Saratoga,” the prisoners were to be marched to Boston and then shipped back to Great Britain. When they arrived at Boston, a dispute arose between the Americans and Burgoyne, and on the 8th of January 1778, Congress resolved to suspend the terms of the Convention and keep the prisoners in custody. Late that year the decision was made to relocate them to Charlottesville, Virginia, where they could be more closely… Read More

1807. William Henry Harrison This was the first formal educational lottery conducted in the American NorthwestWilliam Henry Harrison was a Virginian and the son of Declaration of Independence signer Benjamin Harrison. He was appointed Secretary of the Northwest Territory on June 26, 1798, and in 1799 was elected a territorial delegate to Congress, where he served until May 1800, when he was appointed the first Governor of the Indiana Territory, an area that then included all of the original Northwest Territory except Ohio. The 27-year-old Harrison served as Governor for twelve years. His dual responsibilities to secure justice for the Indians and to acquire Indian land were often contradictory, but his administration was generally able and honest. During his governorship his military career was enhanced when he defeated the Indians at Tippecanoe in 1811. He was given command of the Army of the Northwest in the fall of 1812, just after war was declared with Great Britain, and resigned as Governor a… Read More

02/11/1874. Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope was an English novelist of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels including Barchester Towers, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, which revolves around the imaginary county of Barsetshire.Autograph Letter Signed, 2 pages, [London], November 2, 1874. “I have written to the Subwarden and Bursars saying that I shall be most happy to dine with them on the 16th. Pray do not let me disturb you at your house if you three are still unwell. Of course I shall be delighted to go to you if it should suit you; but I beg you to believe that it will cause me great pain to be in your way: & that, should this be still not convenient I can do very well elsewhere. My absence from London has prevented me from writing earlier.” On his letterhead from 39 Montagu Square with a small engraving of a jumping deer. The name of the recipient has been crossed out. Apparently some college had invited Trollope to dinner.Trollope… Read More