ROBERT TOOMBS AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED TO SECRETARY OF THE NAVY JOHN P. KENNEDY — A NAVAL SURGEON'S APPOINTMENT, WASHINGTON, GEORGIA, 1852

ROBERT TOOMBS AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED TO SECRETARY OF THE NAVY JOHN P. KENNEDY — A NAVAL SURGEON'S APPOINTMENT, WASHINGTON, GEORGIA, 1852

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Item Code: 2026-1752

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Autograph Letter Signed ("R. Toombs"), one page, on a folio leaf, approximately 8 x 12.5 in., "Washington Geo." (Washington, Wilkes County, Georgia — Toombs's lifelong home), dated October 3rd, 1852. Addressed at lower left to "Hon. Jno. P. Kennedy, Sec. of Navy."

A letter of recommendation written entirely in Toombs's hand on behalf of a young constituent seeking a naval commission. Toombs writes that a Dr. Whittock, "a young gentleman of this place of fine character & professional attainments," desires the appointment of Assistant Surgeon in the Navy, and asks the Secretary to inform him whether there is any vacancy and what the candidate's prospects are for obtaining it.

The letter is finely associated on both ends. The writer, Robert Augustus Toombs (1810–1885) of Georgia, was at this date a sitting U.S. Representative and, having just been elected by the Georgia legislature in 1852, Senator-elect; he would take his Senate seat in March 1853. Toombs went on to become the first Secretary of State of the Confederacy and a Confederate brigadier general wounded at Antietam. The recipient, John Pendleton Kennedy (1795–1870), served as Secretary of the Navy under President Millard Fillmore from July 26, 1852 to March 1853 — placing this letter squarely within his brief tenure — and was himself a celebrated American novelist (Swallow Barn, Horse-Shoe Robinson). It was during Kennedy's term that the Navy organized Commodore Perry's expedition to Japan.

The verso bears period Navy Department docketing confirming the letter's receipt and processing, including the candidate's name ("Whittock"), a file notation referencing "Asst. Surg.," the instruction "to keep," a receipt/registry notation ("W 377 Oct 8"), and "Done Oct 8th" — documentary evidence that the Department logged and acted on the request within five days. This original filing apparatus is a strong indicator of authenticity and provenance.

An attractive, fully handwritten and signed political content letter linking two notable antebellum statesmen — one bound for the Confederate cabinet, the other a sitting Fillmore-administration cabinet officer and major literary figure.

Condition: Clean and legible in dark ink on cream laid paper. Usual folds as written, with light toning and a few minor handling marks; small archival mounting traces and a collector's pencil notation. Verso largely blank apart from the Navy Department dockets noted above. Please confirm exact sheet dimensions against the ruler before posting. Offered as an authentic period autograph letter signed; no further authentication required for an item of this date and provenance, though COA available on request.   [ss][ph:L]

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