Offered here is a personal letter written by Civil War Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard discussing the death of his wife, Marguerite. Beauregard's first marriage to Marie Antoinette Laure Villeré came to an abrupt end when Marie died while giving birth to their daughter Laure in 1850. Ten years later he married Marguerite Caroline Deslonde. Marquerite died in New Orleans while the city was occupied by the Union in March 1864. Although undated, the letter is referencing Marquerite's death. The letter reads, "By letters I received today from home, I am informed that Mrs. B. was confined to her bed two months before her death--during all that period and in her last moment of conciseness, she begged and entreated the members of the family (even my little daughter) not to mention her condition to one saying: 'In this hour of danger to our country, it has more claims to his service than I have.' Words which shall order to be engraved on her tombstone." The letter is signed with Beauregard's initials ("GTB;" he rarely used his first name). According to legend, the words were placed on a marble slab, but today her tomb is unmarked. The letter is on 5x8 inch lined paper and is written in ink. Beauregard ordered the first shots of the Civil War on April 12, 1861, at Fort Sumter and commanded armies in the Western Theater. His greatest achievements were saving the city of Petersburg, Virginia, and the Confederate capital of Richmond from assaults by overwhelmingly superior Union forces in June 1864. In April 1865, General Beauregard and General Joseph Johnston convinced President Davis that the war needed to end. With the letter is a portrait of Beauregard from a A.B. Walter engraving.

Very fine. The ink is clearly legible. This letter serves as a unique glimpse into the personal life of a prominent Civil War Confederate general, P.G.T. Beauregard.