An original bank check boldly signed by James Lawson Kemper (1823–1895), one of the most storied figures of Confederate Virginia. Drawn on The State Bank of Virginia, Richmond — check No. 330, dated October 28, 1885 — and made payable to Mrs. Frances A. Wood in the amount of $362.48 (“Three hundred and sixty-two and 48/100 dollars”). Signed at the lower right in bold dark ink, “J.L. Kemper.”

The check is handsomely printed by A. Hoen & Co. of Richmond and carries a finely engraved vignette of the State Bank Building. The verso bears the contemporary endorsement of Mrs. Frances A. Wood and the cancellation and clearing stamps of the Union & Planters Bank of Memphis, Tennessee, documenting the instrument’s passage through the banking system.

Kemper was the youngest brigade commander — and the only non-professional soldier — in George Pickett’s division at Gettysburg. On July 3, 1863, he was grievously wounded leading his brigade in Pickett’s Charge; the ball that struck him could never be removed and left him in pain for the rest of his life. Captured and later exchanged, he went on to command Virginia’s Reserve Forces and was promoted major general in September 1864. After the war he returned to the practice of law and in 1874 took office as the 37th Governor of Virginia — the first elected after Reconstruction — where he drew fire from former allies for his comparatively progressive stands on civil rights, prison reform, and public education. He died in Orange County, Virginia, in 1895.

Genuine autograph material of Kemper — particularly cleanly signed financial documents from his postwar Virginia years — is scarce on the market and eagerly sought by collectors of Confederate generals and Gettysburg-related autographs.

Measures approximately 7½ x 3 inches. Expected mailing and file folds, light overall toning, minor edge chipping at the top margin, and a small separation at the center — none of it touching the signature, which remains bold and fully legible. An attractive, very displayable example pairing a famous Confederate general and Virginia governor with a graphically appealing Richmond bank check.  [ss][ph:L]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THIS ITEM, AS WITH ALL OTHER ITEMS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB SITE,

MAY BE PURCHASED THROUGH OUR LAYAWAY PROGRAM.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR POLICIES AND TERMS.

THANK YOU!