CLIPPED SIGNATURES OF A PRESIDENT AND A GOVERNOR

$200.00 SOLD

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Item Code: 846-97

This item consists of a small slip of paper approx. 6.75 inches long by 2.50 inches. Glued to this are two signatures clipped from other documents.

First is a bold ink signature of President Franklin Piece. When it was clipped the scissors hit the top of the letter “F” but very little of it was affected. Paper has moderate surface dirt from age.

The second autograph is in pencil and reads “W. A. BUCKINGHAM” who was the Civil War Governor from Connecticut. Pencil has faded a bit but is still readable. The paper surface also has some moderate surface dirt.

Well-known to history, Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804 – October 8, 1869) was the 14th President of the United States (1853–57). He was a northern Democrat who saw the abolitionist movement as a fundamental threat to the unity of the nation. His polarizing actions in championing and signing the Kansas–Nebraska Act and enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act alienated anti-slavery groups while failing to stem intersectional conflict, setting the stage for Southern secession and the Civil War.

Not so well-known is William A. Buckingham (May 28, 1804 – February 5, 1875) who was born in Lebanon, Connecticut. He attended the common schools and Bacon Academy in Colchester, Connecticut but never attended college. Buckingham entered into a career in the mercantile industry, and in 1848 helped to organize the Hayward Rubber Company, a business that developed into a successful enterprise.

Buckingham served as the mayor of Norwich, Connecticut from 1849 to 1850, and again from 1856 to 1857. He also served as Norwich's town treasurer and a member of the city council.

Winning the 1858 Republican gubernatorial nomination, Buckingham was elected and served as the 41st Governor of Connecticut. He was reelected to the governorship the next seven years, serving from May 5, 1858, until May 2, 1866. During his tenure, he dealt successfully with the effects of an economic panic that occurred in the state and with the outbreak of the Civil War. Buckingham arranged for troops, with 54 companies enlisting instead of 10. Before the General Assembly appropriated $2 million for military expenses, Buckingham had begun borrowing money in his own name to finance Connecticut's war efforts.

The outbreak of the Civil War was the major reason for Buckingham’s long tenure as Connecticut’s governor. A strong supporter of Abraham Lincoln, he hosted Lincoln when Lincoln campaigned in Connecticut, and a personal friendship formed between them. When the President called on the Northern governors to assist him in prosecuting the war, Buckingham worked seven days a week, twelve hours a day. The state’s major correspondent with the Federal government, he read and answered letters from troops in the field and visited troops at war as well as at home. Concerned for the welfare of Connecticut troops, he oversaw much of the procurement of men and materials for the war, and he is quoted as saying to an official in Washington: “Don’t let any Connecticut man suffer for want of anything that can be done for him. If it costs money, draw on me for it.” It is estimated that Connecticut sent 54,882 soldiers to fight in the Civil War. Buckingham is known as a “War Governor” for his work.

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