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SENATOR HENRY MEYERS : 1838 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT LETTER BY THE SENATOR FROM PENNSYLVANIA WHO PULLS OUT ALL THE STOPS AND HELPS A WIDOW'S SON LAUNCHING THE CAREER OF A FUTURE ADMIRAL AND HERO OF THE CIVIL WAR PIERCE CROSBY JR

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. On offer is a super relic of American naval history being an original manuscript letter from Pennsylvania state Senator Henry Myers to Sec. of Navy Mahlon Dickerson urging Pierce Crosby's appointment as a Midshipman. Crosby would later go on to become a Navy Rear Admiral who played important roles in the Civil War commanding several ships and serving as Fleet Captain of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. This letter has remarkable content, as Myers "pulled out all the stops". Dated March 28, 1838 from the Senate chamber, this very full one page 8vo goes on to state: "I last evening received a letter from Mrs. Catherine A. Crosby, a widow lady of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, who is desirous to procure a Midshipman's Warrant for her son Peirce Crosby, Jr. Should you have it in your power to grant her request, it will be acting in accordance with the scripture injunction to remember the widow and the fatherless. The youth is a very promising one, and descended on both sides from substantial Whigs and heroes of the revolution, (not modern Whigs who were the peace party in war and the war party in peace) and through the exertions of his widowed mother is forward in his education. And my Dear Sir, if you will revert to the history of our country and the biography of her great men, you will find that many of them (including the immortal Washington) were tutored under similar circumstances, and the first impulses to an honorable ambition instilled by maternal affection. We may boast of our love of country and attachment to our free institutions, but in all this we are generally selfish; but from the female bosom emanated a more pure and holy patriotism. I do hope therefore you will be enabled to grant this lady's request. With sentiment of profound respect, Your humble Servant, Henry Myers". Such an appeal would be hard to resist - Less than 3 months later, Crosby was appointed Midshipman and began an illustrious career! Note that this was 7 years before the Naval Academy was established.VG.. Book Condition: Very Good

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