Lot 318

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Description:

**Ambrosio Jose Gonzales Autograph Letter Signed dated: 5 November 1862, Head Quarters Chief of Artillery, Charleston, S.C.,
To General G. T. Beauregard, Commander of the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. "In submitting to you the enclosed system of auxiliary Coast Defense, I am aware of the great changes which have taken place in the condition of our coast since it was offered to the government at Richmond: changes, which, in my humble judgment, would, to a great extent, have been prevented, had this plan or some analogous one been pursued." Gonzales acknowledged that although "the country has been open to the invader as far as he dare go," he recommended that "the central batteries" should have "just enough cavalry to help the guns in an emergency, & perform vidette duty" while greater support, when needed, could come "from two regiments of infantry selected from the most reliable troops we have…ready at all times to move on any point…." This system, he believed, "would be of far more service to the land defense of Charleston & the line of the Sav[annah] R[ail] R[oad] than five times its numbers of troops that have never yet been moved in time to do the good expected of them."
Two pages, on laid paper with watermark and blindstamp, W7 3/4" L10"

Provenance: John Heflin, Oct 1973
Dr. & Mrs. C.G. Hopper, Jr. Collection

Other Notes: Ambrosio Jose Gonzales (1818-1893) Cuba-born, revolutionary who promoted the annexation of Cuba by the United States and was involved in several filibustering schemes in 1849 and1850 to liberate Cuba from Spanish control. He settled in Beaufort, South Carolina and married there in 1856 Harriet Rutledge Elliott (1839-1869), the daughter of William Elliott (1788-1863). In 1861, before the bombardment of Fort Sumter, he joined the staff of General G. T. Beauregard, a friend from their school days in New York City. In September 1861, he presented a detailed "outline of a system of coast defense" to Confederate president Jefferson Davis. Although not adopted, parts of the plan were praised by other officers and Gonzales continued to champion its potential effectiveness after he was promoted in 1862 to Chief of Artillery of the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida with the rank of colonel.

    Condition:
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February 10, 2023 11:00 AM EST
West Columbia, SC, US

Charlton Hall

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