Letter signed by Henry Wilson, as Senator. Washington, D.C., 14 March 1868. 1 page, 4to, on United States Senate Chamber letterhead.

An important letter regarding President Ulysses S. Grant's relationship with alcohol, written by his future vice-president, Henry Wilson (1812-1875). Written during his term as United States Senator representing Massachusetts to an unknown recipient, Wilson writes in full: "I have received your letter of inquiry respecting Gen Grant's drinking + in reply have much pleasure in informing you that I have known him a long time + that I never saw him when the presence of liquor could be even suspected. I am also assured by General Howard + others who claim to known whereof they speak, that he does not use liquor at all, + has not for a long time."

Grant's sobriety was often the subject of debate and ridicule both during the war and his presidency. Wilson himself was a teetotaler in favor of the prohibition of alcohol, in part due to the intemperance of his own father. Wilson's assurances of Grant's sobriety would have been an important vote of confidence. The sensitive nature of the subject is emphasized by the word "Private" underlined in the upper left. Though the recipient is unknown, it was written during the early campaign of 1868 and was almost certainly written in support of Grant's candidacy.

Separation along old fold lines, repaired with archival tape.

[Politics, Presidents, Vice Presidents, Signatures, Letters, Manuscripts, Documents, Ephemera, Civil War, Union, Confederate, Reconstruction] [Civil War, Union, Confederate, Politics, Reconstruction, Radical Republicans, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Historic Photography, Early Photography, Albumens, CDV, Carte de Visite, Cabinet Card]