Two Letters Written by R.G. Horton on the Letterhead of the Pro-Slavery New York Day-Book Written Immediately Before and After Lincoln's Assassination to Former Connecticut Governor Thomas H. Seymour: "I should have been glad to see you and learn your views on the sad condition of our country."
New York City: April 10 and April 18, 1865. Two autograph letters signed, "R. G. Horton," on printed letterhead of The Day-Book, 162 Nassau Street, New York, published by Van Evrie, Horton & Co. Together 3 pp, 5 x 8 inches. Item #List3720
A pair of letters written at the offices of the notorious Democratic newspaper The Day-Book, one during the closing days of the Civil War and one in the aftermath of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Both are addressed to Thomas H. Seymour, the former Governor of Connecticut, a Democratic presidential contender, and one of the most prominent Northern opponents of the Lincoln administration.
The letters were written on the letterhead of the newspaper The Day-Book. Published by Van Evrie, Horton & Co., The Day-Book occupied a distinctive place within the Democratic press. Publisher and writer John H. Van Evrie was decisively pro-slavery, and the paper was among the most persistent critics of abolition, emancipation, and Republican wartime policies. These letters link Seymour to that circle.
The first letter, written on April 10, 1865, concerns a gathering planned for April 13, Jefferson’s Birthday, only one day before Lincoln’s assassination. Horton urges Seymour to attend, noting that a number of Democratic figures were expected:
“Mr. Burr wrote you this morning about coming down on Thursday, Jefferson’s Birthday. I expected from what he told me that you would have been in New York today, or I should have written you before. Our friends earnestly desire you to be present at the occasion referred to. You can speak or not, just as you choose. I enclose a ticket and also a copy of the toasts. If it be possible, do not fail to be present. Mr. Ingersoll of Pa. & Gov. Price of N.J. are also expected.”
Four days later, after Lincoln’s assassination, Horton again writes Seymour from the Day-Book office. Referring to an earlier exchange and the altered circumstances confronting the country, he remarks:
“I regret I did not have the opportunity of seeing you when you were down. I desired to explain to you that neither of your letters arrived until after the dinner and they could not appear in the regular proceedings. And owing the great excitement and particularly to the press of other matters on our columns it would probably be as well to omit them. I should have been glad to see you and learn your views on the sad condition of our country.”
Written during the final week of the Civil War and the immediate aftermath of Lincoln's assassination, these letters link former Connecticut Governor Thomas H. Seymour to the Democratic opposition circle surrounding The Day-Book. An interesting pair documenting political correspondence at a moment when both the war and the Democratic Party's role in national politics were undergoing dramatic change.
Price: $750.00