The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-04-11
CIVIL WAR LETTERS
TO Be PUT ON SALE
Historical Documents Collect.
ed by Late Maior-Gcncral
&. w. Crawford.
HIDDEN AWAY FOR YEARS

Documents and letters relating q. ~.
civil war, and particularly to t,,. ,..,
ical days leading up 10 and ir,.,,u
ately following the attach on Fort e.,.,,
ter. have como to light In tho Low. ,..a
den collection Of the late Ma,,.,.,
9. W. Crawford. and nre 10 10 so,l ,,.
the American Art Association. b,s.,.
ming May 8.
Gen. Crawford entered tho r.l,,-v
service Of the United States as an -.
sistant surgeon on March IN. 1851 am,
served until 1865. He was ordered .,
Fort Sumter because OF tho supposca
outbreak Of yellow fever In the vicinity
of Charleston. After the surr.nde~ Il.
Sumter he received commission a,
Briga dier-General Of Volunteers ard e.
was while holding that rank tina. n.
was wounded In the battle Of Ant,.,sr
Notwithstanding his wound he PARTED.
pated in tho battle of Gettysburg ana
was In command OF the forre known al
the Pennsylvania reserves. He also
fought In the principal engagements =,
the Army OF the Potomac.
During the war he began gathering
authentic material for his book The
Genesis OF tho Civil War" The parera
In his collection for upward of ren,y
years had been cast aside IN an attic IN
northern Pennsylvania and were con
sidered worthless the owner being quite
willing to sell tho collection practically
for waste paper to a we'll known boo
scout" Before the details OF the sale
We're completed. however. the owner go,
an milling OF their true value and the
sale was not consummated.
Dictated by Lincoln.
One OF tho most important documents
in the collection Is an original manu-
script, written nj the instance of Ahra-
ham Lincoln. not. however, In his hand.
although by a hand of the creates
similarity. being the original ofIlriai
message issued by the state Derar'.
ment at Washington by It's trusted
agent. Robert Chew, regarding tho pro
posed attempt to be made hy the 'iov.
eminent to provision Fort sumter, al
dressed to Gov. Francis w i'ckers ~
South Carolina. The message reads:
II am directed by the President Of
the United States TO notify you 70 o..
pect an attempt will be made 20 sup
Fort Sumter with provisions only o.
that II such attempt be not resls'e
no effort to throw IN provisions arm
or ammunition will be made without ~
Their notice or In case OF an attack upH-
he Tort"
Cndcrnca.h Is tho manuscript r-cN .-'
Of the document by zen. p.yKs's, - .
the signed acknowledgment also ~ CO.
Beauregard. In several Official account
the message was referred TO both
Lincoln and jefferson Davis.
The collection contains nuuNr0t
documents which go TO prove f1a' SOU
Carolina Intended to take Fort ~'.
Ter ny force Of arms before JA'3..
81. notably several letters written
Walter GWyun, Confederate Mtio- g.
Skilled ergrue,r. who had been O..
ployed abou, December, 1850. Icy .
pickcus. who had directed him 90 r.
an inspection and report the con =
Of the works at Fort sumter.
Not the Least interesting itom Re
small folio volume containing '-'
( scripts Of about 500 letters anil 'e'e
grams. being tho correspondence o. PHI
Southern Commissioners. NJ ! t-'
4 ford a p Rowan and John F.-s''
7 with the Confederate GovernW'rt Pc
I Montgomery. Ala. February T. l'5' {
q April II. 1861.
! In Gen. Crawford's "Hlstorv - 70
sumter" he tolls how he acG3rs 49,
/ volume: "While In command q Monte
| willie. Ala. in lS69-7o we hr.ar.
/ into association with Gen l.. y Na'ra-
I tho r-s' Secretary Of War ~ 're 'o'
fcderncv from whom ! Oh'at~et -'u.