LT GENERAL SIR THOMAS GRAHAM NAPOLEON WAR LETTER GRAHAM ARRIVES IN LISBON AS WELLINGTONS 2ND IN COMMAND Start Price USD 2,100.00 Current Price USD 2,100.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Thursday, November 13, 2008 End Time Saturday, December 13, 2008 Location Missouri See more about 'LT GENERAL SIR THOMAS GRAHAM NAPOLEON WAR LETTER ' Description NAPOLEONIC & PENINSULAR WAR ARCHIVES WITH THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PENINSULAR WAR CAMPAIGN UPON US - WELLINGTON LANDS IN PORTUGAL AT MOUTH OF THE MONDEGA ON THE 1ST OF AUGUST OF 1808 - WE ARE PRESENTING QUALITY ORIGINAL SOURCE DOCUMENTS THAT WILL JUMP START OR ENHANCE ANY BICENTENNIAL EXHIBIT, COLLECTION, OR TRIP TO THE BATTLEFIELDS.   LT GENERAL SIR THOMAS GRAHAM, LORD LYNEDOCH - ALS WAR DATE LETTER FROM THE PENINSULAR WARDATELINE: LISBON - 9 JULY 18112 PAGE AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED (ALS)ONE OF THE MORE AMAZING CHARACTERS OF THE NAPOLEONIC WARAND AN ESSENTIAL PIECE IN ANY BRITISH GENERAL OFFICERS COLLECTIONLT GENERAL GRAHAM ARRIVES IN LISBON AS WELLINGTON'S SECOND IN COMMAND "I am anxious to know if you have you got any letters from Lord Wellington for me" THIS DOCUMENT IS COVERED BY OUR WRITTEN, SIGNED AND SEALEDLIFETIME GUARANTEE OF AUTHENTICITY   Lt. General Sir Thomas Graham finally is recalled to Lisbon from Cadiz to actively assume his position as Wellington's Second in Command. Being frustrated to have been technically Wellington's Second in Command since 1810, but told to remain in Cadiz to protect the critical Spanish port, the rump Spanish government, and a fear that Wellington would fail (by Lord Liverpool and the British Government), Graham is anxious to get back into the fight following his Barossa triumph. Here he arrives in town and wanders the halls of Sir Charles Stuart's estate (British Envoy) in Lisbon trying to connect with him or Admiral Berkeley and inquires if Wellington has sent him any instructions. He has taken up lodging at the Hotel Leon d'oro until he is assigned quarters. A nice letter as Graham transitions from a defensive garrison commander to an active command in the field. Transcription:Leon d'oro [inn] Lisbon Tuesday 9th July 1811My Dear Sir,    After a tedious passage of six days & a half (having sailed on the 3rd) here I am arrived in an unlucky moment for a dinner at your house which I traversed for a quarter of an hour before Mr Hamilton [Stuart's personal secretary] was discovered – the ad[mira]l too [Admiral Sir George Cranfield Berkeley, - Commander in Chief of the Lisbon Station Fleet - also an old friend who lived down the road from Stuart's estate] am understood was equally on the move today – so here we are at the Posada [inn] till I get a quarter – meanwhile I am anxious to know if you have you got any letters from Lord Wellington for me – anyway let me know what your intentions are as I can easily get a chaise or horse to go out to you if you do not think of being here this evening – adieu – ever most truly yours                      Tho[ma]s Graham[To] H[is] E[xcellency] C[harles] Stuart NOTES This remarkable Scottish Baron came very late to the military game and yet proved his mettle and worth on a measure with any other. (Be sure to read his biography below) In this particular letter to Sir Charles Stuart, His Britannic Majesty's Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Lisbon, and a close personal friend, Graham arrives in Lisbon to assume an active field position as Wellington's Second in Command. This letter dates precisely his arrival as he is staying at the Posada [Hotel] Leon d'Oro in Lisbon while he awaits the assignment of more permanent quarters. He refers to walking about Stuart's house which was really more like an estate as it was the ambassadorial residence. Stuart could not actually be the Ambassador to Portugal as the Royal Court had removed itself and the "capital" to Rio de Janiero for the duration of the war. But Admiral Berkeley (Commander in Chief of the Lisbon Fleet and Station) lived in the same diplomatic enclave and both he and Stuart were renowned for their extravagant dinner parties.A very fine handwritten letter from the hotel Leon d'Oro in Lisbon and signed by Lieutenant General Graham as Wellington's Second in Command in the Peninsula. At this point, Wellington, after having successfully rebuffed Marshall André Massena, Prince of Essling, Duke of Rivoli, at Fuentes de Oñoro, was preparing to resume the initiative and retake Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz on his way to regaining the gateways to the invasion of Spain. Massena's failure led to the appointment of Marshall Auguste Frédéric Marmont, Duke of Ragusa. Wellington and Graham dueled with Marmont through the fall of 1811 including the Picton's action at El Bodon and Hill's action at Arroyo dos Molinos. Graham's remarked of this period, "It was very pretty, but spun rather fine." Graham was also a close friend of General Rowland Hill, whom he met at Toulon at the beginning of the war and who gave him a command as colonel in his regiment and then sent him to Egypt. Graham autographed letters from the Peninsular War are scarce and one of the essential holdings in a comprehensive Napoleonic collection. Related reading: Freshly Remembered: The Story of Thomas Graham, Lord LynedochGeneral Cecil Aspinall-Oglander, London, Hogarth Press, 1956Life of Thomas Graham, Alex M. Delavoye (1880) Page 1 Page 12 Biographical NoteThomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch, GCB, GCMG, KTSOctober 1748 – December 1843Scottish Aristocrat, Farmer, Politician, Traveler and Soldier Thomas Graham was the third and only surviving son of Thomas Græme of Balgowan, in Perthshire and Lady Christian Hope, a daughter of the first Earl of Hopetoun. Born in 1748, he attended Christchurch College, Oxford, in 1766; the following year the death of his father put him in possession of a handsome and unencumbered estate. Following university he traveled broadly on the Continent learning French and German and observing agricultural practices. Upon return to his Scottish estate Graham set up as a simple gentleman farmer. He enclosed his lands, erected comfortable farmhouses and offices, granted leases to his tenants, provided them with improved implements of husbandry and encouraged them to cultivate on a large scale potatoes and turnips, which had hitherto been regarded as mere garden plants. He also set himself to cultivate improved breeds of horses, cattle, and sheep. In 1785, he purchased the estate of Lynedoch or Lednock, situated in a picturesque part of the valley of the Almond. He was distinguished for his skill in country sports. He rode with the foxhounds, and accompanied the Duke of Athole—who subsequently became his brother-in-law—in grouse-shooting and deer-stalking on the Athole moors. He later said that he owed much of that education of the eye with reference to ground and distances, so useful to a military man, to this period of his life in the Forest of Athole.Thomas Graham married the Honourable Mary Cathcart, daughter of 9th Baron Cathcart, who was the British Ambassador to Catherine the Great. He was a solicitous husband. Notably, when his wife discovered on the morning of an Edinburgh ball that she had left her jewel-box at Balgowan, he rode the ninety miles to and from Balgowan using relays of horses to ensure that she would have her jewelry at the ball. Her portrait by Thomas Gainsborough was highly acclaimed when exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1777. The painting now hangs in the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh. His wife's health began to deteriorate and on a trip to the South of France in June of 1792 she passed away. Upon returning through Toulouse with his wife's coffin, a group of French soldiers opened the coffin and molested the body. Graham had previously sympathized with France and the revolutionary ideals, but from that point on he detested the French and saw his military career as a way to take revenge.After a year in mourning, Graham joined the military at the ripe age of forty-four! In June of 1793, acting as Aide-de-Camp to Lord Mulgrave, Graham was amongst the troops sent to assist in the defence of Toulon, one of the few places still holding out against the French Revolutionary Government. It was here that Napoleon Bonaparte, then a lieutenant of artillery, rose to prominence through his part in the siege. Graham distinguished himself by his courage and energy, to wit: snatching up a musket and leading an attacking column. In a general order referring to the repulse of an attack by the French on an important fort, Mulgrave expressed "his grateful sense of the friendly and important assistance which he had received in many difficult moments from Mr. Graham, and to add his tribute of praise to the general voice of the British and Piedmontese officers of his column, who saw with so much pleasure and applause the gallant example which Mr. Graham set to the whole column, in the foremost point of every attack." Of particular note is that is was here at Toulon where Graham first became acquainted with his life-long friend, Rowland Hill, then a captain, who ultimately also played such a pivotal role in the Peninsular War.Following the Fall of Toulon to the French, Graham returned to Perthshire and raised his own Regiment, the 90th, or Balgowan’s ‘Grey Breeks’, as they were called, of which he was appointed lieutenant-colonel in 1794, and nominated Rowland Hill major. Shortly after he was unanimously chosen to represent the county of Perth in Parliament. In 1795 he was stationed with his regiment at Gibraltar, but becoming wearied of the listlessness of garrison duty, he obtained permission to join the Austrian army on the Rhine as British Commissioner. In this capacity he assisted Wurmser in the defence of Mantua, when it was invested by the French under General Bonaparte. The garrison was reduced to the greatest extremities from want of provisions, and Colonel Graham undertook the perilous duty of conveying intelligence to the Imperialist General Alvinzi, at Bassano, fifty miles distant, of their desperate situation. Quitting the fortress, wearing a cloak of the country over his uniform, on 24 December, amid rain and sleet, he crossed the Mincio in a boat which was repeatedly stranded in consequence of the darkness. He pursued his way on foot during the night, wading through deep swamps, and crossing numerous watercourses and the river Po, in constant danger of losing his way, or of being shot by the French pickets; at daybreak he would conceal himself until the return of night, when he would resume his journey. After surmounting numerous hardships and perils, on January 4th he the headquarters of the Austrian general. But on the 14th the Austrians were defeated, and Mantua, soon after, was forced to surrender.Colonel Graham again rejoined his regiment at Gibraltar and later took part, under General Sir Charles Stuart, in the reduction of Minorca, where he greatly distinguished himself. General Stuart was the father of his namesake Sir Charles Stuart to whom this letter is addressed. He then repaired to Sicily, and obtained the warmest acknowledgments of the King and Queen of Naples for his effective exertions on their behalf. In 1798 he was entrusted with the charge of the operations against the important island of Malta, which was at that time in the possession of the French. With the local rank of brigadier-general, he had under his command the 30th and 89th regiments. Owing to the great strength of the place, he was obliged to resort to a blockade, and after being invested for nearly two years, the garrison were compelled by famine to surrender in September 1800. In the summer of 1801 Graham proceeded to Egypt, where his regiment (the 90th) greatly distinguished itself under Sir Ralph Abercromby. Following the French capitulation he toured Egypt and Turkey, spending some time in Constantinople, whence he travelled on horseback to Vienna—a journey which in later years he used to mention as one of the most agreeable rides he had ever enjoyed. Graham then returned to Scotland for some time to attend to his parliamentary duties and his estates. Colonel Graham was subsequently stationed with his regiment in Ireland and then sent to the West Indies, where he remained for three years. In 1808 Colonel Graham accompanied Sir John Moore as his aide-de-camp to Sweden, and then to Spain. He served with Moore throughout the whole of his campaign, terminating in the arduous and trying retreat to Corunna, in which Graham’s services were especially valuable to the harassed troops. As Sheridan said in the House of Commons, "In the hour of peril Graham was their best adviser; in the hour of disaster Graham was their surest consolation". When Sir John Moore received his death-wound at the battle of Corunna, Colonel Graham was at his right hand and at once rode away for medical assistance. Before he returned his dying general missed him, and anxiously asked, "Are Colonel Graham and my aides-de-camp safe?"—one of his last inquiries. Moore's body was carried to Colonel Graham’s quarters, and Graham was one of the select company who witnessed Moore’s burial on the rampart of the citadel of Corunna.After his return to England, Colonel Graham was promoted to the rank of Major-General, and was appointed, in the summer of 1809, to command a division under Lord Chatham, in the fatal Walcheren expedition. An attack of malaria fever, however, compelled him to return home. On his recovery he was raised to the rank of Lieutenant-General, and was sent to Spain, to take command of the British and Portuguese troops in Cádiz, which was at that time closely invested by the French. The British Government attached great importance to the possession of Cádiz, as it was Britain's last stronghold in the Iberian Peninsula. General Graham resolved to make an effort to raise the siege by attacking the rear of the besieging army and, in February 1811, he sailed from Cádiz with a force of upwards of 4,000 men, accompanied by 7,000 Spanish troops, under General La Pena, to whom, for the sake of unanimity, the chief command was conceded. But for the indecision and failure of General la Pena to hold his ground, the siege of Cadiz might well have been lifted. In one of the most stirring and courageous moments of the war, the Battle of Barrosa, General Graham took command and turned disaster into victory. Lord Wellington, in a dispatch to General Graham, says "I beg to congratulate you and the brave troops under your command on the signal victory which you gained on the 5th instant. I have no doubt whatever that their success would have had the effect of raising the siege of Cádiz, if the Spanish troops had made any effort to assist them; and I am equally certain, from your account of the ground, that if you had not decided with the utmost promptitude to attack the enemy, and if your attack had not been a most vigorous one, the whole allied army would have been lost." [The Duke of Wellington’s Despatches, vii. 382.]Graham shortly after joined the army under Wellington and was appointed second in command. In January 1812 he took part in the siege and capture of Ciudad Rodrigo, and Wellington declared that he was much indebted to him for the success of the enterprise. Three months later he and his friend, now General, Hill received the Order of the Bath. A complaint in his eyes, from which he had been suffering for some time, made it necessary for Graham to return home at this juncture. "I cannot avoid feeling the utmost concern," wrote Wellington to him, "that this necessity should have become urgent at this moment, and that I should now be deprived of your valuable assistance."His visit to Scotland had the effect of restoring his eyesight, and, in May 1813, he rejoined the army at Freneda, on the frontiers of Portugal, bringing with him the insignia of the Order of the Garter to Lord Wellington. On 22 May the British force quit Portugal and moved upon Vittoria in three divisions. The left wing, which was commanded by Sir Thomas Graham, had to cross three large rivers—the Douro, the Esla, and the Ebro—and had to force positions of great strength among the passes of the mountains, continually pressing round the right wing of the retiring French army. General Graham took a prominent part in the battle of Vitoria and, by carrying the villages of Gamarra and Abecherco at the point of the bayonet, he intercepted the retreat of the enemy by the high road to Bayonne, and compelled them to turn to that leading to Pamplona.He was shortly after directed to conduct the siege of the strong fortress of St. Sebastian. The first assault, which took place on 25 July, was repulsed with heavy loss, and the siege had in consequence to be raised for a time. It was renewed, however, after the defeat of Soult in the battles of the Pyrenees, and a second attempt to carry the fortress by storm was made on 31 August. The breach was found to present almost insuperable obstacles, and the storming party strove in vain to effect a lodgment. In this almost desperate state of the attack, General Graham ordered a heavy fire of artillery to be directed against the curtain wall, passing only a few feet over the heads of the British troops in the breach. This novel expedient was completely successful. Taking advantage of an explosion on the rampart caused by the fire of the guns, which created confusion among the enemy, the assailants gained a footing on the wall, and after a bloody struggle, which lasted two hours, forced their way into the town. On 9 September Governor Rey surrendered the citadel.At the passage of the Bidassoa, which separates France and Spain, General Graham commanded the left wing of the British army, and, after an obstinate conflict, succeeded in establishing his victorious troops on French territory. But the return of the complaint in his eyes, and the general state of his health, obliged him to resign his command and return home. In return for his eminent services, he now received, a third time, the thanks of Parliament, and the freedom of the cities of London and Edinburgh was conferred upon him. His health was so far recovered that early in 1814 he was able to take the command of the British forces in Holland, and directed the unsuccessful attempt, on 8 March, to carry the strong fortress of Bergen-op-Zoom by a night attack.On 3 May 1814, he was raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Lynedoch of Balgowan; but, in keeping with his disinterested and high-minded character, he declined the grant of £2,000 a year, to himself and to his heirs, which was voted as usual to accompany the title. Other honours, both British and foreign, were heaped upon him. He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, of the Spanish Order of St. Ferdinand, and of the Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword. He was raised to the full rank of general in 1821, was nominated colonel of the 14th Foot in 1826, which in 1834 he exchanged for that of the Royals. He was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow in 1813, and in 1829 was appointed Governor of Dumbarton Castle. He was noted for his vigor in his old age traveling frequently, visiting Italy, Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden, and Russia. In 1841, aged 94, he travelled through France to Genoa and Rome. His riding-horses were sent on to Rome, and he rode frequently in the Campagna. He died at his London home in Stratton Street on 18 December 1843, aged 96, after a very short illness: he rose and dressed himself on the day of his death. Taylor described Graham as "tall, square-shouldered, and erect, his limbs sinewy and remarkably strong. His complexion was dark, with full eyebrows, firm-set lips, and an open, benevolent air. His manners and address were frank, simple, and polished.A remarkable and heroic career and life.Document Specifications:  An extremely fine handwritten ALS letter signed by Lieutenant General Thomas Graham as Wellington's Second in Command in the Peninsula and dated July 9th 1811 from Lisbon. Single sheet letter measures 9" tall x 7¼" wide (225mm x 185mm) on batonne laid paper, partial watermarked "1806". Writing on two sides of one sheet as shown. This is a defining handwritten letter by Graham as he arrives in Lisbon for field command. This is an excellent opportunity to acquire an Autograph Letter Signed (ALS) of one of the leading British Generals of the Napoleonic Wars. Graham war date letters are considerably more scarce than Wellington's in the market place.From the Sir Charles Stuart, Lord Rothesay, Correspondence. Stuart was His Britannic Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Portugal during the greater part of the Peninsular War (January 1810 to May 1814). He was a personal friend and confidante of Wellington and Nelson, a sitting member of the Portuguese Regency (the only British Subject in the war ever permitted to hold an official position in a foreign government while also representing Britain), and later ambassador to Netherlands & France. The most important foreign diplomat of the Peninsular War, his archive of diplomatic, military and intelligence dispatches are second only to Wellington's Dispatches.  Offered by Berryhill & Sturgeon, Ltd   No Reserve - Free Shipping – No Auction Buyer’s FeesWhat You Bid Is What You Pay!! All items include a written guarantee of authenticity to the successful bidder and are accompanied by a full color picture receipt for your insurance and inventory records. 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