LEE, ROBERT E., General, C.S.A . Autograph letter signed ("R.E. Lee") to John B. Cocke, son of the late Brigadier General Philip St. George Cocke, n.p., 28 July 1865. 2½ pages, 8vo . Boldly signed. LEE AND HIS "CONFEDERATE GRAY" HORSE, "TRAVELLER" A letter concerning the best-known equine participant in the Civil War, Lee's beloved "Traveller" (or "Traveler"), a "Confederate gray" according to Lee's own description, who served as the General's mount from late 1861 until the end of the war. Three months after the fall of the Confederacy, Lee has been living quietly in the Richmond area (his former home in Arlington had been taken over by the Union for use as a military cemetary). "I am very much obliged to you for the good care you have given my horse. I had hoped he might have been of some service to you, but fear he has been the cause of trouble. I am extremely obliged to you for your kind offer of future service, but hope I shall not be obliged to trespass on your kindness. I will give General Smith's letter to my son on his return. He rode off...with Mr. Edmund Cocke to Waltons mill and has not returned. He has not yet recovered his strength and though I know he would like to see General Smith, I do not know that he will be able at this time to visit you...." Lee goes on to comment on the health of other family members, send regards to Cocke's mother and sister and hopes "you will be able to ride up and see us...." Lee's own elegaic account of "Traveller" and a list of the their campaigns appears in Lee's Memoirs , ed. A.L. Long (1983 edn.), pp.131-133, where it is noted that "Traveller" died not long after Lee himself. Provenance : Unnamed owner (sale, Christie's, 1 October 1980, lot 67).
LEE, ROBERT E., General, C.S.A . Autograph letter signed ("R.E. Lee") to John B. Cocke, son of the late Brigadier General Philip St. George Cocke, n.p., 28 July 1865. 2½ pages, 8vo . Boldly signed. LEE AND HIS "CONFEDERATE GRAY" HORSE, "TRAVELLER" A letter concerning the best-known equine participant in the Civil War, Lee's beloved "Traveller" (or "Traveler"), a "Confederate gray" according to Lee's own description, who served as the General's mount from late 1861 until the end of the war. Three months after the fall of the Confederacy, Lee has been living quietly in the Richmond area (his former home in Arlington had been taken over by the Union for use as a military cemetary). "I am very much obliged to you for the good care you have given my horse. I had hoped he might have been of some service to you, but fear he has been the cause of trouble. I am extremely obliged to you for your kind offer of future service, but hope I shall not be obliged to trespass on your kindness. I will give General Smith's letter to my son on his return. He rode off...with Mr. Edmund Cocke to Waltons mill and has not returned. He has not yet recovered his strength and though I know he would like to see General Smith, I do not know that he will be able at this time to visit you...." Lee goes on to comment on the health of other family members, send regards to Cocke's mother and sister and hopes "you will be able to ride up and see us...." Lee's own elegaic account of "Traveller" and a list of the their campaigns appears in Lee's Memoirs , ed. A.L. Long (1983 edn.), pp.131-133, where it is noted that "Traveller" died not long after Lee himself. Provenance : Unnamed owner (sale, Christie's, 1 October 1980, lot 67).
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
