Auction Name: 2026 June 19 The John H. Freund Americana Collection Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 42158

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/6331*42158

Ulysses S. Grant Autograph Endorsement Signed Twice ("U. S. Grant") with rank, at the bottom of a ledger. One page, 9 x 18 1/2 inches; Cairo, Illinois; December 1861. Docketed on the verso and cancelled in magenta ink on the recto.

An interesting manuscript document bearing two autograph endorsements by Ulysses S. Grant, then serving as Brigadier General commanding the District of Cairo, written at the foot of a ledger detailing provisions supplied to Union forces in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Belmont.

The ledger records meals and transportation furnished by Samuel A. Turner, captain of the steamboat Memphis, covering the period from November 8 through November 30, 1861. At the conclusion of the account, Grant adds the following endorsements:

"The A. C. S. will pay the above amount.
U. S. Grant
Brig. Gen. Comm.
Dist. of Cairo

The above account is totally wrong so far as furnishing meals to officers is concerned. They receiving commutation of rations should have been required to pay for their meals. This is allowed however under the circumstances, the Capt. of of [sic] the Steamer having furnished this in good faith, and a much larger amount on other occasion which is disallowed.

U. S. Grant
Brig. Gen. Comm."

On November 7, 1861, leading a riverboat expedition from Cairo, Illinois, Grant launched a surprise attack on the Confederate camp at Belmont, Missouri, initially routing the enemy forces. The Confederates, however, quickly regrouped with reinforcements from nearby Columbus, Kentucky, and mounted a strong counterattack supported by heavy artillery. Grant's forces were compelled to withdraw, but the engagement demonstrated his aggressiveness and ability to operate independently in the field.

Though a relatively minor action in strategic terms, Belmont marked an important early step in Grant's rise to prominence.

Condition: Good overall. Some toning and discoloration at the fold lines; scattered dampstaining and minor cockling. Long separations at the fold lines, affecting text (but not Grant's addition), with repairs on the verso.

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