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THB[MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR] Jefferson Davis 1854 ALS
![[MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR] Jefferson Davis 1854 ALS](https://s1.img.bidsquare.com/item/xl/3591/35915210.jpeg?t=1W2VkK)
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About Auction
LiveApr 25, 2026
Featuring rare artifacts, documents, ephemera, photography, and weaponry relating to the American Civil War. Fleischer's Auctions info@fleischersauctions.com
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- Lot Description
Autograph letter signed by Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), as Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce, to General Persifor Frazier Smith ["General P. F. Smith"] (1798-1858), as Commander of the Department of Texas. Washington, D.C., 5 April 1854. 2 pages, 8vo. Headed "Private" at the top in Davis's hand.
Davis writes to Smith regarding his purported transfer to another station, as well as the reassignment requests of other Mexican-American War veterans, including Major Jeremiah Yellott Dashiell (1804-1888) and General David E. Twiggs (1790-1862): "I have not proposed to change your station." Relatedly, Davis refers to correspondence with Twiggs, who has twice written concerning a "wish to be assigned to a common corresponding with his rank." If a change is to be made, Davis writes, after Twiggs reports to his station in St. Louis, Missouri, it is possible that he will claim Smith's command, but he reassures Smith that he "need not believe that any orders affecting you will be given to the public before you are informed."
As Secretary of War, Davis championed a transcontinental railroad to the Pacific Ocean, citing its necessity for national defense and envisioned a southerly route as the optimal path for the railroad. Consequently, the southwestern United States, including Texas and the newly acquired portion of Southern Arizona, were sharply in his focus. At the time of this letter's writing, Smith was in command of the Department of Texas, tasked primarily with establishing forts to safeguard against Native American attacks. Twiggs, meanwhile, was serving as commander of the Western Department in St. Louis, Missouri. Although no changes were made in 1854, as Davis assured Smith, the two had effectively traded places by 1857: Twiggs returned to Texas and assumed command of that Department, while Smith was given command of the Department of the West.
[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs]
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