Beschreibung:

Autograph letter signed "R E Lee / Lt Engr" to John Archer, ordering stone for construction at Fort Calhoun.
Fort Monroe [VA]: 30 July 1834. 1 p., folded sheet with integral address leaf (251 x 195 mm). Condition: usual hole from opening on the address leaf, staple? holes along the gutter, usual folds. early lee letter written while serving as the assistant engineer of fort monroe. “We require for the service of Fort Calhoun the current year, 4,000 Long Building Stone, 15,000 [Long] Break Water [stone], 5,000 [Long] Small Rough [stone] which must be of the same quality and dimensions as stated in the circular of last year (1833) and which will be received upon the same conditions. Any Dressed Stone now on hand will be received at the price therein fixed, and included with the quanity of Building Stone …” Fort Calhoun, later renamed Fort Wool, was constructed largely between 1830-1834 on a man-made island opposite Fort Monroe. Construction lasted for years due to the unstable nature of the foundation, and perhaps the reason for this order of stone from Port Deposit, MD. “In the better mastery of his profession, these years were a busy and most important period with Lee. He came as an assistant of limited experience; he was to leave fully qualified to direct a large engineering project” (Freeman I:p.119). Ironically, Fort Calhoun would play a significant role during the Civil War, as it was used by Union forces to protect Hampton Roads and served as a prison for captured Confederate soldiers.