Rare Wartime Note Written and Signed by Gen. R. E. Lee in May, 1861 and Initialed by Major Robert Selden Garnett – This rare, wartime note, written by Gen. Lee, in response to a military appointment question, was composed on May 15, 1861 at the Norfolk, Virginia navy yard; Lee had been sent by the Confederate government to inspect the Norfolk Navy Yard, after the Federal troops, evacuating the yard, had set it afire and caused significant damage. Lee, in his note, weighed in on a response to the question posed by Confederate General Walter Gwynn, Confederate General in charge of the Confederate forces in Norfolk, to Major Robert Selden Garnett, about the efficacy of appointing volunteer aides-de-camp, who would not receive compensation for their military efforts. Lee offered that he was not aware of any “authority required to appoint volunteer aids (sic), entitled to little to no compensation or emoluments.” At the time of the exchange of these notes, Gen. Gwynn was stationed at and presiding over the Norfolk Navy Yard, on behalf of the Confederate government, as was Major Garnett; Gen. Lee was sent by President Jefferson Davis to inspect the Navy Yard, also at this time. Garnett led Confederate troops on July 13, 1861, at the Battle of Corrick’s Ford in what is now West Virginia. During the closing phases of that engagement, Garnett was shot and killed, becoming the first Confederate general killed in action during the Civil War.

The notes were written on period, blue, Confederate government paper; all writing was inked and remains quite legible. The paper and associated notes remain in overall excellent condition.

Measurements: H – 9.75”; W – 8”

TRANSCRIPTIONS OF NOTES:

Front Page of Lee Note:

 

                         Brig

Head Quarters Major General Commanding Forces in Norfolk harbor,

Norfolk, Va.   May 14^th, 1861

 

                       To/

                                   Col. R.S. Garnett

                                   Adjt Genl

                                    

                                          The Genl commanding in this harbor

                                    wishes it submitted to the ?

                                    whether Genl has the authority to

                                 appoint six volunteer aides without

                                 pay or involvement. They will be

                                    of great service in the field. The

                                    Genl has now three volunteer

                                  aides in the field most usefully

                                 employed and two officers supervising

                                 the manufacture of cartridges.

                                ?  will please submit this request

                                  to the ?  for the authority

                                to make this appointment.

 

                         By order of

 

                             Walter Gwynn (signature)

                Major General Commanding Forces in Norfolk Harbor.

 

 

R.R. Collins (signature)   A.D.C.

Back Page of Lee Note:

 

Norfolk,    Va

                 May 15  ‘61

 

Walter Gwynn 

   Brig Genl

 

Want it submitted

to the Genl whether he

is authorized to appoint

six volunteer aides

de-Camp.

 

                 R S Gn  Va Forces (?)

                     Maj C.S. (?)

 

Respectfully submitted to the ?

I am not aware that any authority

is required to appoint volunteer

aids, entitled to little to no compensation

or emoluments.

 R. E. Lee

                                   Maj Genl

                                                                                                                                                May 15

Robert S. Garnett (1819–1861)

Robert S. Garnett was a brigadier general in the Confederate army during the American Civil War (1861–1865). An 1841 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he had a distinguished career in the United States Army, including service in the Mexican War (1846–1848), when he was an advisor to the Virginia-born general and later U.S. president Zachary Taylor. Garnett also designed the Great Seal of the State of California. After resigning from the Army to join the Confederacy, Garnett led Confederate troops on July 13, 1861, at the Battle of Corrick’s Ford in what is now West Virginia. During the closing phases of that engagement, Garnett was shot and killed, becoming the first Confederate general killed during the Civil War.

Robert Selden Garnett (December 16, 1819 – July 13, 1861) was a career military officer, serving in the United States Army until the American Civil War, when he became a Confederate States Army brigadier general. He was the first general officer killed in the Civil War.

Early life and career

Garnett, the son of Robert Selden Garnett, Sr., and Charlotte Olympia De Gouges, was born at the family plantation in Essex County, Virginia. Through his mother, he was a great-grandson of French playwright and activist Olympes de Gouges. Along with his cousin, Richard B. Garnett, Robert attended the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, graduating 27th in a class of 52. Seven classmates, including his cousin, would die in combat in the Civil War. Another notable cousin of the Garnetts was United States Congressman Robert M. T. Hunter, who went on to become a Senator in the Confederate Congress and Secretary of State of the Confederacy.

Upon his graduation from West Point, Garnett was assigned as a second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Artillery in July 1841. He spent a year on the Northern Frontier during the Canada Border Disturbances, serving in Buffalo and Fort Ontario in New York before being assigned garrison duty at Fort Monroe in his native Virginia. In 1843 Garnett became an assistant tactics instructor at West Point before becoming an army recruiter and then an Aide-de-camp to General John E. Wool. Garnett served in the Mexican–American War under Zachary Taylor and received two brevets for distinguished service, one at the Battle of Monterrey and the other for “Gallant and Meritorious Conduct” in the Battle of Buena Vista.

In 1848, Garnett transferred to the 7th U.S. Infantry and served in the Seminole Wars in Florida before heading to the Presidio of Monterey, California. In 1849, then Major Garnett designed what would become the Great Seal of California. After a brief stint on a review board in Washington, D.C., he served on the frontier in Texas, being promoted to captain. He returned to West Point as Commandant of Cadets before being transferred to garrison duty in Virginia. Being named a captain in the 1st U.S. Cavalry, he once again served on the frontier. The much traveled Garnett was promoted to major of the 9th U.S. Infantry and went west to the Washington Territory, where he served in the 1856 Yakima Expedition and the 1858 fighting against the Puget Sound Indians. He designed and supervised the construction of Fort Simcoe. He requested and was granted an extended leave of absence later that year, when his wife and young son died from disease and he returned east to bury their remains. Still in mourning, he was traveling in Europe when the Confederate States of America were formed.

Civil War

When Virginia seceded from the United States, Garnett resigned his commission in April 1861 and became Adjutant General of the Virginia troops, serving under Robert E. Lee. In June, he was assigned as brigadier general of the Provisional Army. At the start of the Civil War, Union forces had rapidly crossed the Ohio River to seize a portion of northwestern Virginia (now a part of West Virginia), winning a key victory at the Battle of Philippi. On June 15, Lee assigned Garnett to reorganize the Confederate forces in the area. He deployed his forces at strategic points along the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, hoping to defend the vital supply route against Federal troops. A series of small battles occurred, with the Confederates being forced to withdraw under pressure from Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan‘s Union forces.

After a defeat at Battle of Rich Mountain, Garnett withdrew from his Laurel Hill entrenchments under cover of darkness, hoping to escape to northern Virginia with his 4,500 men. However, he received what later proved to be false information that his escape route to Beverly was blocked by Union troops. He instead marched to the northeast, following ridges and valleys in a more circuitous route. Pursued for several days by as many as 20,000 Federals, Garnett paused at several stream crossings to slow his adversaries. While directing his rear guard in a delaying action at Corrick’s Ford, Garnett was shot and killed during a Union volley. A friend in the Union Army recovered his body after Garnett’s remaining men had fled. A participant in the battle related his coming upon the body of Gen. Garnett as he was dying and expressed the belief that he had been killed mistakenly by his own men.^[1]

In memoriam

In recognition of Garnett’s service during the Mexican–American War, a Federal honor guard conveyed his body under a flag of truce to his relatives, who buried Garnett in Baltimore, Maryland. He was later re-interred next to his wife in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, one of two Confederate generals buried there. His grave monument, which he had erected for his wife and child, does not have his name on it. One face mentions his wife, one face his son, and one face has the words “To My Wife and Child.” The fourth face is blank.^[2]

In California, the General Robert S. Garnett Chapter 2570 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy was named in his memory and honor. In 1957, they established a monument to Garnett, who had designed California’s State Seal during his brief service at the Presidio in Monterey in 1849. In 2017, after the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the city of Monterey installed a new plaque omitting mention of Garnett’s Confederate history; it was stolen in 2020.^[3] There is a Sons of Confederate Veterans camp in West Virginia named Robert Garnett Camp 1470 in his honor.^[4]

Walter Gwynn (1802-1882)

Walter Gwynn (1802-1882) was an American civil engineer and soldier. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in the Class of 1822. In 1827, he helped survey the route for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In 1833, he was involved and an engineer in the building of the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad. He was Superintendent and Chief Engineer of the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad in North Carolina from 1836 to 1840. In 1846, he became president of the James River and Kanawha Canal Company, which was funded by the Virginia Board of Public Works.

Walter Gwynn was a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. In 1861, he was directed by Virginia governor John Letcher to assume command of the defenses around Norfolk and Portsmouth. He oversaw construction of defensive fortification at Sewell’s Point, which was across the mouth of Hampton Roads from Fort Monroe at Old Point Comfort. In 1862, he participated in the Battle of Big Bethel during the Peninsula Campaign. In 1863, he was named comptroller of the State of Florida.

After the war, he returned to civil engineering in North Carolina. He died in 1882.

Civil War Confederate Brigadier General. At the start of the Civil War, he was railroad engineer and founder of the southeastern railroad network in the Carolinas. In April 1861, he accepted a commission as Brigadier General of the Virginia Militia in charge of constructing batteries at various strategic points along the southeastern seaports. He also commanded the Northern Coast Defenses of North Carolina, oversaw construction of defensive fortifications and participated in the Battle of Big Bethel. In 1863, he resigned his commission and was named comptroller to the State of Florida. After the war, he returned to civil engineering in North Carolina and Virginia. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in the Class of 1822. Commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Artillery, later transferring to the 4th U.S. Artillery. In 1827, while still an artillery lieutenant, he helped survey the route for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O).

BG Walter Gwynn

Birth

22 Feb 1802

Jefferson County, West Virginia, USA

Death

6 Feb 1882 (aged 79)

Baltimore, Baltimore City, Maryland, USA

Burial

Hollywood Cemetery

Richmond, Richmond City, Virginia