Lot 313
Davis, Jefferson. Autograph letter signed, 1page, 8 x 6½ in., Washington, July 11, 1860. To D. Funsten, Esqr. As a U.S. Senator from Mississippi. Davis was to resign in less than seven months upon the secession of his home state and become President of the Confederacy. He writes with a veiled reference to his pro-slavery beliefs, declining an invitation to "address the Democracy of Alexandria Va. tomorrow evening. My heart will be with you and my hope is confident that the land of Washington of Henry, of Jefferson and Madison will not fail to appreciate and maintain the principles which saved the Government in 1800 and which are involved in the issues of 1860. Very truly yours, Jefferson Davis."
David Funsten (1819-1866) was from Clarke County, Virginia. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1844 and 1845. He served in the Confederate Army and was elected to the First Confederate Congress in a special election to replace William "Extra Billy" Smith, who had resigned to return to his regiment. In the November 1863 election for the Second Confederate Congress, Funsten was also selected. Because of the end of the war, the Confederate Congress did not serve its full two-year term. Its final session took place on March 18, 1865. One of its final acts was the passage of a law allowing for the emancipation and military induction of any slave willing to fight for the Confederacy, a notion put forward by General Patrick Cleburn (killed at the Battle of Franklin on Nov. 30, 1864) a year earlier.
Estimated Value $3,500 - 4,500.
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| Realized $4,200 |
