Catalog Archive
Auction 178, Lot 588

"[Land Grant Signed by Politician and Confederate General John Buchanan Floyd]"

Subject: Document - Confederate General Floyd

Period: 1851 (published)

Publication:

Color: Black & White

Size:
11.2 x 13.5 inches
28.4 x 34.3 cm
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This grant is for a 1125 acre parcel of land in Doddridge County, Virginia (now West Virginia) to Robert Johnston and Daniel Sherwood. The grant is signed at bottom by John Buchanan Floyd, Governor of Virginia (1849-52) along with a wax and paper seal. Following his term as governor, Floyd served as the U.S. Secretary of War under President Buchanan (1857-60). During this time, Floyd appeared to be redistributing weapons and military resources from the north to locations in the south, leading some to believe he was planning for the war. In 1861, he was tried for conspiracy and fraud, but the charges were dismissed. When Virginia seceded from the Union later that year, Floyd was appointed as a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army under President Jefferson Davis. However, after fleeing his command post at Fort Donelson when Union capture seemed imminent, he was quickly relieved of his duties. He then served as a Major General in the Virginia State Militia until his (natural) death in 1863.

References:

Condition: B+

Folded with a few tiny splits along the fold junctions. There is minor soiling along the sheet edges.

Estimate: $350 - $425

Sold for: $125

Closed on 6/10/2020

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