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Auction: 314 - Numismatic Collector's Series Sale
Lot: 1100

Grant, Frederick Dent American soldier and diplomat (1850-1912); son of 18th President U.S. Grant; served primarily on general staffs, seeing action mainly against Native American tribes; US Minister to Austria; rejoined the army during the Spanish-American War, serving in the Caribbean and the Philippines. Four items, including three great content Autograph Letters Signed "F.D. Grant," 1 page to 2 pages and one line, all 8vo, New York, March 1885-April 1888. All are to Col. [A.H.] Markland, the first acknowledging his note but confessing that "I am sorry I can´t give you any encouragement about father. For the last three days he has been free from pain but that is all. He gets more feeble every day..." The next, written the following December, is on black-bordered mourning stationery, as President Grant had died in May 1885. He tells the colonel that "I find from the records that Phelps and not Walke went up the Tennessee so I will take the liberty to change that [in his father´s deathbed Memoirs, which Fred helped prepare] but about the other corrections you mention I do not believe I have the authority to make a change...Although we printed 325,000 for the first addition [sic] all have been sold and orders are coming in..." In the third letter, Grant thanks Markland "for the interest you have taken in the [Adam] Badeau matter. I did have some dread of a newspaper discussion as to the authorship of my father´s book, but have no fear of the courts. Badeau can write well, and has desired to get into the papers from the beginning, he believing that he could crush me there, that is why he forced the issue..." Some uneven toning to last letter, otherwise all are in very good condition. Badeau had served on Grant´s staff during the war, and made a living afterward by penning his own accounts of the action. With a fourth ALS to Markland, author´s name undeciphered, who writes, "Monday morning," no place or exact date, explaining that "I saw Allen...who was with [Gen. Montgomery] Meigs at Chattanooga - He says that Meigs came back from the fight at Mission[ary] Ridge with Generaran staff..." In very good condition.

Sold for
$525