Circa 1865-1870 – Thank you letter from General Robert E. Lee’s daughter, Mildred to Mrs. Preston, probably the daughter of a former President of Washington College and wife of the founder of the Virginia Military Institute
[Lexington, Virginia]: circa 1865-1870. Unbound.
This undated luncheon thank you note, signed by Robert E. Lee’s daughter, Mildred Childe Lee, was hand delivered to “Ms. Preston / At Home”. It is in nice shape with light toning and a short tape repair to split along a fold. In this letter Lee thanks Preston for a luncheon and remarks that she desires to share a gift of sugar plum candy received from her father, Robert E. Lee, with Mrs. Preston’s boys.
“My dear Mrs Preston
All of us enjoyed yr nice lunch yesterday & Moma desired me to than you for it. I hope the walking will permit you soon to come & see us & that you will come prepared to spend a long time.
A delightful Candy friend in Richmond sent me by Papa a large supply of sugar plums & I send some to the dear little boys.
Yrs affec’ly
Mildred Lee”
. Very good. Item #010116As Mildred Lee was living in Lexington, Virginia at the time while her father was serving as the president of Washington College (today Washington & Lee University), Mrs. Preston was undoubtedly Mrs. Margaret Junkin Preston, the daughter of a former president of Washington College and the second wife of one of the founders of the Virginia Military Institute, which is also located in Lexington. At the time of this letter, Mrs. Preston had two young boys, George and Herbert.
Mrs. Preston, an associate of Robert Browing, Lord Tennyson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Christina Rosetti, was known as the Poet Laureate of the Confederacy. She was an important southern apologist and champion of “The Lost Cause” who authored the oft quoted and widely anthologized work, Beechenbrook: A Rhyme of the War, and wrote extensively for popular magazines and newspapers.
(For more information, see Carrino’s “Lee’s Daughters, Part 5: Mildred Childe Lee” at the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable website and “Margaret Junkin (1820-1897)” at the Joseph Junkin Family Tree website.)
The Rare Book Hub shows this letter was sold at a University Archives auction in 2022.
.Price: $150.00