Interesting story, very well told — that is, southerners and their ephemera, memorabilia, relics, keepsakes, and other artifacts of the Lost Cause. In my family, someone snipped and kept some hairs from Little Sorrel, Stonewall Jackson's horse, which had been taxidermied upon its death in 1886. A great-great-uncle wrote off for and received Jefferson Davis's autograph. Nostalgia, sentimentality, piousness: so very southern and quite enduring, as something of that same mentality appears to underlie MAGA today.
Mrs. M. E. Robertson of Washington, Georgia safeguarded the trunk containing Lee’s Dispatches for approximately one year following the collapse of the Confederacy. She was the wife of Dr. Robertson, a local banker, and provided lodging to Burton N. Harrison and later to Jefferson Davis when the Confederate cabinet met for the last time in Washington, Georgia, in May 1865. Harrison left the trunk in her custody with instructions to keep it safe until the risk of confiscation passed. During this period, the dispatches remained concealed in her home and were not discovered by Federal authorities. In 1866, following Harrison’s release from Fort Delaware, Mrs. Robertson returned the trunk to him.
Excellent work on this.
Thank you.
Utterly amazing and very well-written. Always glad to learn that papers and artifacts necessary for a true appreciation of history have been saved.
Interesting story, very well told — that is, southerners and their ephemera, memorabilia, relics, keepsakes, and other artifacts of the Lost Cause. In my family, someone snipped and kept some hairs from Little Sorrel, Stonewall Jackson's horse, which had been taxidermied upon its death in 1886. A great-great-uncle wrote off for and received Jefferson Davis's autograph. Nostalgia, sentimentality, piousness: so very southern and quite enduring, as something of that same mentality appears to underlie MAGA today.
Who was Mrs. Robertson and how did she have the trunk in 1866?
Mrs. M. E. Robertson of Washington, Georgia safeguarded the trunk containing Lee’s Dispatches for approximately one year following the collapse of the Confederacy. She was the wife of Dr. Robertson, a local banker, and provided lodging to Burton N. Harrison and later to Jefferson Davis when the Confederate cabinet met for the last time in Washington, Georgia, in May 1865. Harrison left the trunk in her custody with instructions to keep it safe until the risk of confiscation passed. During this period, the dispatches remained concealed in her home and were not discovered by Federal authorities. In 1866, following Harrison’s release from Fort Delaware, Mrs. Robertson returned the trunk to him.
Oh my goodness thank you and God bless your soul.
How could anyone do anything other than admire our ancestors?
So when do you think Baruch took possession of them?
He bought them in 1938 from the De Rennes, although we have no details of the purchase.