Letter to James Harrison Wilson, May 27, 1865. Adam Badeau (1831-1895),

C0097_Bx1_F4_Badeau_ltr_insideAs military secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), Adam Badeau witnessed the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the Civil War. He describes the occasion in this letter to his friend, General James Harrison Wilson (1837–1925), commending both Grant and Lee for their dignity and magnanimity. Gift of Shirley W. Morgan. Civil War Letters of Adam Badeau, Manuscripts Division.

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Letter to Adam Badeau, May 13, 1865. James Harrison Wilson (1837–1925),

C0097_Bx1_F4_Wilson_ltr_insideGeneral James Harrison Wilson commanded the cavalry unit that captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis (1808–1889) on May 10, 1865. In this letter written three days later to his close friend Adam Badeau (1831–1895), military secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), Wilson vividly narrates the possibly apocryphal story of Davis’s attempt to escape disguised as a woman. Gift of Shirley W. Morgan. Civil War Letters of Adam Badeau, Manuscripts Division.

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Letter to Jefferson Davis, April 12, 1864. Robert E. Lee (1807–1870),

C0063_Bx20_F9_Lee_ltrStruggling to provide for his army, Confederate General Robert E. Lee wrote to the Confederate President, Jefferson Davis (1808–1889), to plead for supplies lest he be forced to retreat for lack of food. Gift of André de Coppet, Class of 1915. André de Coppet Collection, Manuscripts Division.

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Confederate paper currency, 1863.

C0055_Bx8_F11_Confederate_frontThe Confederate treasury issued over a billion dollars in paper currency to finance the Civil War. Because it lacked gold and silver reserves, almost all bills, like the $100 bill displayed here, promised to pay the bearer only after war’s end. This bill presents an idealized vision of slavery, at top, and former U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun (1782–1850), at bottom. Gift of Mrs. George W. Martin. Throop and Martin Family Papers, Manuscripts Division.

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