LOT #42197 |
Starting Bid: $5,000
Theodore Roosevelt Autograph Letter Signed...
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Description
As His Sons Serve in the Most Dangerous Theaters of War, Theodore Roosevelt Reflects On Sacrifice and Condemns President Wilson's Leadership
Theodore Roosevelt Autograph Letter Signed ("T. R.").
Four pages of a bifolium on Sagamore Hill stationery, 5 3/4 x 7 5/8
inches; [Oyster Bay, N.Y.]; August 22, 1917. Includes original
transmittal cover.Roosevelt writes to former Rough Rider and close friend, Robert Harry Munro Ferguson, on the current developments in the war, his sons' service overseas, and recent political conditions in Washington. He pens, in full:
"Dear Bob
I shall send your letter on to the Vigilantes; they seem to do more than any other of these associations and are young and enthusiastic; I have'nt found that its government bodies really accomplish much, and the non-official organizations altho very well-meaning usually do'n't know how!
Yes, Kermit is to serve in Mesopotamia just as you served in Cuba. He has just written me a dear letter, telling of his lunch with Lord Derby, who offered him his choice of a captaincy or majority; Kermit very properly took the former, as he felt that men already on the ground might resent a new man being put over them. Kipling wrote me a very nice letter telling of the visit of Kermit and Belle to him. He says, quite truly, that of the four boys Kermit will have the least comfortable but also the least dangerous job. Ted is a Major and Archie a Lieutenant in the 26th Infantry; their colonel has spoken well of them, although of course they are in direct - competition with, and hold command over, regulars. Quentin is in France, and of the first nine American aviators to be sent there for the intensive training. The three are in the most dangerous positions the army yields; I suppose we must make up our minds that we shall not see all, nor perhaps any, of the three again; and our hearts are torn; but we are very proud of them and we would not for anything have had them act otherwise.
I intend to do as you suggest and make a record of Wilson's actions - and words - as President. - (By the way I hope you saw my last piece in the Metropolitan). I am about to publish a little book, "The Foes of Our Own Household", which will contain one or two statements about, or rather from, him; I'll send you a copy. But this book does not meet its need of which you speak; and if I am able I shall endeavor to keep history straight; so that our children's children may not grow up in the dreadful creed that successful hypocrisy turns the hypocrite, the coward, the cold-blooded, utterly selfish time server, into a great man. For every ill from which we now suffer Wilson is more responsible than any other man; the pacifists and pro-Germans at this moment find their main weapons in the phrases he uttered, and the feelings he stimulated, during the first 2 1/2 years of the war. Yet not only Americans but Englishmen tend to forget this and to praise him for now not too effectively opposing the very forces which gained most of their strength from his action and inaction, the things he said and did and those he left unsaid and undone. But I doubt if I can do anything. The day is past when I could appeal to the American people. Dearest love to Isabella and to blessed Martha and the warlike shot and rider Bobbrè.
Ever yours
T. R."
He adds a postscript to the top margin of the first page: "Ethel was at St. Lukes with poor little Richard who was operated on for appendicitis; she is now at Oglethorpe's with Dick who expects to go over next month; Richard and the baby are with us."
Written just months after the United States entered the First World War, Roosevelt's sons were already fully engaged in the war. Kermit served abroad, while Ted and Archie held commissions in the regular army. Quentin was in France training as an aviator. Roosevelt acknowledges without hesitation that they occupy "the most dangerous positions the army yields," and concedes that he may not see them again. The statement is stark, but resolute. Whatever the cost, he would not have wished them to act otherwise.
Alongside this deeply personal reflection runs a forceful political argument. Roosevelt turns to Woodrow Wilson, whom he holds responsible for the conditions that, in his view, have prolonged the conflict and strengthened its adversaries. He speaks of preserving a record of Wilson's words and actions, concerned that public memory might elevate what he sees as weakness into false greatness. His language is direct and unsparing, reflecting both frustration and a determination to shape how the war will be remembered.
The letter captures Roosevelt in a distinctive role: no longer in office, but still engaged, still combative, and still intent on influencing public judgment. Writing to a trusted friend and fellow veteran, he allows both sides of himself to appear-father and former commander, private citizen and public critic-at a moment when the personal cost of war and the stakes of leadership are inseparable.
Condition: Fine. Flattened folds with light, even toning. Minor staining at the center of page 1, and at the lower left margin of page 3. Minor thumbsoiling to the outer margins of page 4. Roosevelt's signature just touching bottom edge of final page.
References: Edmund Morris, Colonel Roosevelt (New York: Random House, 2010); Kathleen Dalton, Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life (New York: Knopf, 2002).
Auction Info
2026 June 19 The John H. Freund Americana Collection Signature® Auction #6331 (go to Auction Home page)
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