Fleischer’s Auctions presents…

The General William T. Sherman Collection

~Featured in our May 14th & 15th “Civil War and African American History” Sale~

   CIVIL WAR GENERAL WILLIAM T. SHERMAN’S SWORD TO BE SOLD AT AUCTION

[COLUMBUS, OHIO] On May 14th, 2024, Fleischer’s Auctions will sell a remarkable collection of personal effects that belonged to Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman. Important items in the sale’s catalog include: General Sherman’s wartime sword; his personal copy of Ulysses S. Grant’s memoirs (featuring Sherman’s own annotations); his uniform’s rank insignia worn during the Civil War; the Sherman family bible with meticulous records written by General Sherman himself; and Sherman’s copy of Photographic Views of Sherman’s Campaign, George Barnard’s definitive photographic record of Sherman’s “March to the Sea.” Presented by the direct descendants of General Sherman, this collection has never been offered before.

One of the most consequential figures in American history, Sherman reshaped the course of the Civil War and, indeed, modern warfare. Coiner of the phrase “War is hell,” his application of scorched earth warfare inflicted strategic and psychological blows that shattered Southern morale. General Sherman’s capture of the city of Atlanta is widely credited for securing Abraham Lincoln’s reelection in 1864, which in turn ensured the continuation of the war, eventual Union victory, and the universal emancipation of enslaved African Americans.

The Sherman collection will be offered as lots 78 through 128 in Fleischer’s Auctions’ spring sale, “Civil War & African American History: Featuring the Collection of General William T. Sherman.” The auction also includes relics of the Revolutionary War, the African American experience, the Civil War, and the Wild West. A few highlights include: a very early 1733 document signed by Benjamin Franklin; a c. 1857 unpublished photograph of Senator Charles Sumner; an unpublished portrait of Geronimo; a rare document recording the votes of Abraham Lincoln as an elector in the 1840 Presidential election; the scrapbook and effects of a Tuskegee Airman who was killed in action during World War Two; a portrait of members of the 62nd United States Colored Infantry (who would later found Lincoln University); two rare photographs of Sojourner Truth; a recruitment broadside written by Frederick Douglass encouraging African American men to enlist during the Civil War; and the eleventh known, recently discovered c. 1790 “free” badge which was issued to a formerly enslaved person living in Charleston, SC.

Fleischer’s Auctions is the nation’s foremost purveyor of early American antiques, artifacts, and ephemera. Based in the historic Brewery District of Columbus, Ohio, Fleischer’s Auctions regularly works with the nation’s leading institutions and repositories, having handled items now held by the Library of Congress, the archives of the Supreme Court, and the (Smithsonian) National Museum of African American History and Culture, among many others.

The auction will be held live in person and online at the Fleischer’s Auctions office at 503 South High Street, Suite 200 in Columbus, Ohio on May 14th, 2024 at 9am EST.

For more information and to register for the sale, please visit FleischersAuctions.com.