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Archive of 3 letters and 3 autographed Cabinet Card photographs of Confederate General William Wing Loring, AKA Loring Pasha, and of Cmdr. James D. Bulloch, Confederate spy and chief Naval Representative to England, from the collection of CSN 1st Lt. Richard Fielder Armstrong of the CSS Alabama, plus 2 Confederate post-war pieces of souvenir “currency.”
1st grouping: The Loring items include 2 cabinet card photographs of Loring, one of which is autographed and inscribed “to Mrs. Armstrong…” dated St. Augustine, 1880, plus 1 handwritten and signed letter penned by Loring to Lt. (“Captain”) Armstrong, March 9, 1880, regarding plans to return to St. Augustine, Florida (where he and Armstrong both spent time in retirement and became friends). Loring writes: “I have not a vestige of Egyptian Greatness to show that I ever bloomed in a brief hour into an Oriental. I have some Arab jewelry left which if I were there you should have….” .
Note: The extensive military career of North Carolina native Gen. William Wing Loring (1818-1886) included serving in the Mexican War under Winfield Scott and as a brigadier and later major general in the Confederate Army. He was a division commander with the Army of the Mississippi, and his force escaped capture at Vicksburg, earning him the nickname “Old Blizzards”. He accompanied Leonidas Polk to join the Army of Tennessee in early 1864 and assumed command of Polk’s corps when he was killed. Loring was severely wounded at Ezra Church but returned as a division commander under John Bell Hood. He and his troops played a pivotal role in the Battles of Franklin and Nashville. After the war, Loring joined the Egyptian Army as a brigadier general. He earned a promotion to the Dignity of a Pasha and commanded the Egyptian Army during the Abyssinian war. In later years he returned to the U.S. and published the book “A Confederate Soldier in Europe.”
2nd grouping: The James D. Bulloch items include 1 cabinet card photograph, autographed en verso and dated Nov. 1900, and 2 handwritten and signed letters. The first letter, 6 pages, dated Liverpool, June 23, 1896, is in response to letters from Armstrong criticizing “a narrative of the [CSS] Alabama’s cruise written of Arthur Sinclair” and “what can be done to correct or to deny the alleged inaccuracies and what appears to be in some instances a willful exaggeration if not a perversion of the facts”. Bulloch encourages Armstrong to write his own book about the CSS Alabama and its fatal encounter with the USS Kearsarge. The second letter, 6 pages, dated Jan. 4, 1897, continues the conversation in response to Armstrong’s follow-up letter, further discussing the CSS Alabama with mention of Raphael Semmes and noting “I lament with you the little heed paid to the memories and services of many who served the Confederate States loyally and gallantly… but this is the usual fate of men who have fought and lost.. having failed they must wait for the verdict of history which, by and by will do justice to their names and their efforts.”
Note: James D. Bulloch (1823-1901) contracted for the construction of vessels for the Confederacy (including the CSS Alabama) and served as a secret agent; he was said to have masterminded the destruction of 130 Union Ships and to have been considered “the most dangerous man in Europe”. He later wrote the book “Secret Service of the Confederate States in Europe.” Bulloch’s nephew was U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt.
3rd grouping: 2 pieces of post Civil War “currency” including an 1892 Pickett-Buchanan camp souvenir commemorating Robert E. Lee’s Birthday, with an autographed poem by S.A. Jonas.
PROVENANCE: The living estate of Bennett Armstrong of Alexandria, TN, a direct descendant of Lt. Richard F. Armstrong. See other items related to Armstrong and his Confederate Navy service also in this auction.
CONDITION: Loring photos: some small scuffs and stains. Grime to Bullock photo, with later inscriptions en verso. The letters are in good condition with light toning and minor creasing, signatures very good. $20 bill fragile with losses; $10 poem/bill with small loss, overall very good.
