ROOSEVELT, Theodore (1856-1919), President . Autograph letter signed ("Theodore Roosevelt"), as President, to Maj. M. R. W. Grebe, Washington, 23 April 1902. 1 page, 8vo, on White House stationery, lightly foxed .
ROOSEVELT, Theodore (1856-1919), President . Autograph letter signed ("Theodore Roosevelt"), as President, to Maj. M. R. W. Grebe, Washington, 23 April 1902. 1 page, 8vo, on White House stationery, lightly foxed . TEDDY ROOSEVELT LAUDS A MEDAL OF HONOR WINNER: "WHOSE DEVOTION TO THE UNION AND THE CAUSE OF LIBERTY WON SUCH PRAISE FROM ABRAHAM LINCOLN" Roosevelt thanks Grebe "for the book you so kindly sent my son. I am glad he should receive it from the hands of one who fought so valiantly in the Civil War and whose devotion to the Union and the cause of liberty won such praise from Abraham Lincoln, which I gladly endorse." Grebe (1838-1916), a German immigrant and an officer in the Fourth Missouri Cavalry, won the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1899, but during the conflict received the personal congratulation of President Lincoln for several astounding acts of battlefield valor: "My grateful personal acknowledgement of the almost inestimable service you rendered the country," Lincoln wrote. "Your chivalry and daring...are acts of absolute, indomitable courage, not needing to be emblazoned by the correspondent's pen, as they are written on the annals of the American history by your sword." On 22 July 1864, during the fighting at Decatur, General James B. McPherson ordered Capt. Grebe to deliver a message to Gen. Kilpatrick. Just as he delivered the note a rebel force charged and Grebe grabbed a rifle. He not only aided the repulse, but led a countercharge and killed the Confederate color bearer with his sword (after the rebel had shot Grebe twice in the leg). Grebe remained in the saddle all day despite his wounds, and later that afternoon came upon the band of rebels that had just killed General McPherson--and who were in the process of looting his equipment. Grebe and another soldier killed several of the attackers, took several others prisoner, and brought McPherson's body back to the Union lines. His commanders commended him for several other instances in which he combined his courier duties with daring battlefield charges, often grappling in mortal hand-to-hand combat with Confederate soldiers, and suffering several wounds in the process. A duel in which he killed a fellow Union officer got him kicked out of the Army, but when Congress reviewed his remarkable record after the war they decided to award him the Medal of Honor. Provenance : Christie's 15 December 2005, lot 288.
ROOSEVELT, Theodore (1856-1919), President . Autograph letter signed ("Theodore Roosevelt"), as President, to Maj. M. R. W. Grebe, Washington, 23 April 1902. 1 page, 8vo, on White House stationery, lightly foxed .
ROOSEVELT, Theodore (1856-1919), President . Autograph letter signed ("Theodore Roosevelt"), as President, to Maj. M. R. W. Grebe, Washington, 23 April 1902. 1 page, 8vo, on White House stationery, lightly foxed . TEDDY ROOSEVELT LAUDS A MEDAL OF HONOR WINNER: "WHOSE DEVOTION TO THE UNION AND THE CAUSE OF LIBERTY WON SUCH PRAISE FROM ABRAHAM LINCOLN" Roosevelt thanks Grebe "for the book you so kindly sent my son. I am glad he should receive it from the hands of one who fought so valiantly in the Civil War and whose devotion to the Union and the cause of liberty won such praise from Abraham Lincoln, which I gladly endorse." Grebe (1838-1916), a German immigrant and an officer in the Fourth Missouri Cavalry, won the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1899, but during the conflict received the personal congratulation of President Lincoln for several astounding acts of battlefield valor: "My grateful personal acknowledgement of the almost inestimable service you rendered the country," Lincoln wrote. "Your chivalry and daring...are acts of absolute, indomitable courage, not needing to be emblazoned by the correspondent's pen, as they are written on the annals of the American history by your sword." On 22 July 1864, during the fighting at Decatur, General James B. McPherson ordered Capt. Grebe to deliver a message to Gen. Kilpatrick. Just as he delivered the note a rebel force charged and Grebe grabbed a rifle. He not only aided the repulse, but led a countercharge and killed the Confederate color bearer with his sword (after the rebel had shot Grebe twice in the leg). Grebe remained in the saddle all day despite his wounds, and later that afternoon came upon the band of rebels that had just killed General McPherson--and who were in the process of looting his equipment. Grebe and another soldier killed several of the attackers, took several others prisoner, and brought McPherson's body back to the Union lines. His commanders commended him for several other instances in which he combined his courier duties with daring battlefield charges, often grappling in mortal hand-to-hand combat with Confederate soldiers, and suffering several wounds in the process. A duel in which he killed a fellow Union officer got him kicked out of the Army, but when Congress reviewed his remarkable record after the war they decided to award him the Medal of Honor. Provenance : Christie's 15 December 2005, lot 288.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
