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CHRISTOPHER G. MEMMINGER - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 05/22/1879 - HFSID 167201
FORMER TREASURER REMEMBERS CONFEDERATE LEADERS
CHRISTOPHER MEMMINGER. Autograph Letter Signed: "
C. G.
Memminger", 1p, 5¾x9.
Charleston, South Carolina, 1879 May 22. On
letterhead of the Law Office of Memminger & Son to E. Lene Esqr, Chicago.
Begins: "
Dear Sir".
In full: "
Yours of 12 Inst just
received. Mr Mallory died some years ago I think at Pensacola. I am sorry I can
give you no information about Govr Bragg. With much respect". In this letter
of May 22, 1879, former Confederate Secretary of Treasury Christopher Gustavus
Memminger answered a query about two other Confederate cabinet members. Thomas
Bragg (1810-1872), a former governor of North Carolina, had served President
Jefferson Davis as Attorney General for two years commencing in February 1861;
following the Civil War, he resumed his law practice in Jackson until his death.
Memminger knew more of Stephen Mallory (1813-1873), who had remained in the
cabinet as Secretary of the Navy during the entire War; he died in Pensacola,
Florida, having resumed his law practice there in July 1866 after his prison
release. Those in the Davis Administration who remained throughout most or all
of the duration of the Confederacy were arrested and charged with treason after
the War officially ended on April 9, 1865. Although Memminger had resigned about
a year before the War concluded, he was arrested along with the others who still
held office, including his successor George A. Trenholm. Prior to the War,
Memminger had acquired a reputation as an impressive financier in his efforts to
correct state banking policies and finance public education. This status led
Davis to choose him as Secretary of Treasury. During his service, Memminger was
concerned with the growing financial strain on the Confederacy due to rising
inflation and the ever-increasing need of currency backed by bonds and treasury
notes which lacked gold and silver subsidy. Having started with an empty
treasury and the immediate need of financing a war, he faced insurmountable
odds. Knowing the dangers of money without backing, Memminger attempted to
restrain the printing and issuance of currency, although War obligations rose.
However, the Confederate Congress left him little choice but to issue more and
more paper. As treasury notes depreciated and inflation rose, so too did
government costs, necessitating more treasury notes totaling over one-and-a-half
billion dollars. Memminger's likeness appeared on eleven bonds issued between
August 1861 and February 1863. Two months after that, the Congress passed a
variation of his tax bill, but it was already too late. The Union blockade had
prevented the necessary sale of cotton to keep the South's economy afloat. In
1863, Memminger tried to reduce currency with compulsory bond funding; however,
Congress delayed his proposals and passed (February 1864) a widely varied
version, worsening the Confederacy's finances. A German immigrant boy orphaned
in 1807 and raised by future Governor of South Carolina Thomas Bennett, a
well-educated Memminger became a lawyer and rose in state politics. As well as
being elected a member of his state House of Representatives, he became
Charleston's Commissioner of Schools (1855-1885). When War loomed, he helped
draft the provisional Confederate Constitution. Following the Civil War and a
pardon in 1867, Memminger resumed his law practice and public school work in
Charleston. A father of eight surviving children, the industrious lawyer also
started a chemical - sulfuric acid and phosphates - manufacturing company
(1868). Lightly creased with fold. Fine condition.
Framed in the Gallery of
History style: 32½x24.
See more material from these signers:CHRISTOPHER G. MEMMINGER
See more listings in our MILITARY (2,395) category.
Please note that this is an authentically signed item. We do not sell autograph copies or signature reprints
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Certificate of Authenticity
This item has been authenticated and is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity issued by our parent company,
Gallery of History, Inc. We financially stand behind our COA. Our commitment to authenticity and customer satisfaction are the reasons why we've been able to stay in business for so long (since 1981)!
Ask us about our PSA/DNA and JSA authentication guarantee.
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The Gallery of History, founded in 1981, is a long-standing UACC Registered Dealer, #RD110, and is a long-standing member of the Manuscript Society.
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collected over an amazing 43 year period. The Gallery of History is the largest dealer in the world with an available inventory that exceeds 230,000 rare autographs and manuscripts.
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Preserving historical documents is important to us. Your purchase comes to you appropriately protected. Our unframed items are sent to you either in
acid-free archival sleeves or have been encapsulated when noted. The majority of our in-house framed items are also encapsulated in acid free sleeves to guard against
organic acids, mounted in an acid-free enviroment and are framed behind glass or UF3-AR Plexiglas which blocks out most ultraviolet light.
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Authenticity: This item has been authenticated and is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity issued by our parent company, Gallery of History, Inc.
We financially stand behind our COA. Our commitment to authenticity and customer satisfaction are the reasons why we've been able to stay in business for so long (since 1981)!
Ask us about our PSA/DNA and JSA authentication guarantee.
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