Ulysses S. Grant Autograph Document Signed.

GRANT, Ulysses S.

$2,000.00

Item Number: 146683

Autograph document signed by Ulysses S. Grant as President of the United States of America. Quarto, one page, partially printed, the document reads, ‘I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to a Warrant for the commutation of the sentence of Charles Purdue dated this day and signed by me and for so doing this shall be his warrant. “U.S. Grant” Washington May 2 1871.’ The man referenced here, Charles Purdue, was a seaman aboard the Robert Edwards in the spring of 1871 who was accused of inexplicably setting fire to the ship, causing all on board to abandon the vessel. Although he was charged and convicted of arson, no lives were lost, and Purdue claimed that his confession of the crime had been extorted. In very good condition.

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States (1869–77). As Commanding General of the United States Army (1864–69), Grant worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union Army to victory over the Confederacy in the Civil War. He implemented Congressional Reconstruction, often at odds with Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson. Twice elected president, Grant led the Republicans in their effort to remove the vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery, protect African-American citizenship, and supported unbridled nationwide industrial expansionism during the Gilded Age.