Lot 613: Portrait of CSA General John S. Marmaduke

Watercolor and gouache on heavy cardstock portrait of CSA General John Sappington Marmaduke (1833-1887), seated and wearing his Confederate uniform. Matted, unframed. Sight: 17"H x 14 3/4"W. Mat: 24"H x 20"W. Note: oral history of the family in which this painting descended attributed it to Emil Fuchs (Austrian/American, 1866-1929). John Sappington Marmaduke was born in Missouri in 1833 into a prominent political family. His father, Meredith Marmaduke was the state's 8th Governor and a Unionist, but Marmaduke's own views aligned more closely with his pro-secessionist uncle, Claiborne Fox Jackson, who was also a Missouri Governor. Marmaduke gained national notoriety for killing a fellow general in a duel. The duel stemmed from the Battle of Helena (July 4, 1863), during which Marmaduke accused Brig. Gen. Lucius Walker (b. 1829 Columbia, TN, a nephew of President James K. Polk) of being absent from the field as Union troops approached; Marmaduke retaliated by not informing Walker of a Confederate retreat. After a flurry of letters and charges, the two met near Little Rock, Arkansas, on September 6, 1863, and dueled with pistols at 15 paces. Marmaduke was unharmed but Walker was wounded and died within the day. Marmaduke was never formally charged with Walker's murder and spent only a brief time under arrest. Marmaduke also suffered a number of other high profile failures in battle, including the battle at Poison Springs, Arkansas against the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry, which resulted in a massacre, but he distinguished himself in the second Battle of Independence. He was captured at Mine Creek, Kansas in 1864 and spent the rest of the war at Johnson's Island. While there, he was promoted to Major General. After the war, Marmaduke returned to Missouri, where he followed in his father and uncle's footsteps and was elected Governor in 1884, becoming Missouri's 25th governor.

PROVENANCE: Private Virginia Collection, purchased from a family estate sale in Lone Jack, Missouri, in 2015.

CONDITION: Overall good condition with some scattered scuffing and faint spotting.