Large, bold signature in ink on a 4 ¼” x 1 3/8” slip of paper, which is mounted to a card of the same size.  A few minor stains, mounting evidence on reverse of card, else very good.

William Mahone (December 1, 1826 – October 8, 1895) was a civil engineer, railroad executive, soldier and politician.

As a young man, Mahone was prominent in the building of Virginia’s roads and railroads. As chief engineer of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad, he built log-foundations under the swamp that are still intact today. According to local tradition, several of the new railroad towns were named after the novels of Sir Walter Scott, a favorite author of Mahone’s wife Otelia.

In the American Civil War, Mahone was pro-secession and served as a Confederate general. He was best known for regaining the initiative at Petersburg, when the Southern troops were in shock after a huge mine was exploded beneath them (Battle of the Crater, July 1864), and his counter-attack turned the engagement into a disastrous Union defeat.

After the war, he returned to railroad building, merging three lines to form the important Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM&O), headquartered in Lynchburg. He also led the Readjuster Party, a coalition of blacks, Republicans and Conservative Democrats, becoming an independent Senator in 1881. His willingness to caucus with Republicans cost him some support from the white electorate, as did his relatively lenient treatment of African Americans.

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