Franklin, William Buel:

AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED, 15 AUGUST 1881, ON TYPESCRIPT LETTERHEAD OF "THE OFFICE OF COLT'S PATENT FIRE ARMS MANUFACTURING CO., HARTFORD, CONN.", TO MAJOR BENJAMIN PERLEY POORE, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, REGARDING PROVIDING FIREARMS FOR AN APPARENT MILITARY DISPLAY: "MY DEAR MAJOR, "I HAVE RECEIVED YOUR LETTER OF THE 12[TH] INST. I WILL SELECT REVOLVERS FROM THOSE FIRST MADE, DOWN TO THE PRESENT PRODUCTION, AND HAVE THEM TAGGED AND SENT TO YOU BEFORE THE END OF THE MONTH, AS YOU SUGGEST. I DO NOT QUITE UNDERSTAND WHETHER YOU WANT ANY OF OUR DOUBLE-BARREL FOWLING PIECES. AND WE MADE BREECH-LOADING GUNS FOR RUSSIA ELEVEN YEARS AGO, AND DURING THE WAR SPRINGFIELD MODEL MUSKETS WERE MADE HERE. "WE HAVE HERE A FLINT LOCK REVOLVER MADE I THINK ABOUT 1820. THE REVOLUTION IS BY HAND OF COURSE. DO YOU WANT IT? "ALTHOUGH I WILL BE GLAD TO SEE YOU, I HARDLY THINK THERE IS ANY NECESSITY FOR YOUR COMING HERE ON THIS BUSINESS. "I THINK THAT MILITARY DRESS IS ALWAYS OF INTEREST TO PEOPLE, AND AN EXHIBIT SHOWING THE CHANGES WILL BE PARTICULARLY SO, AS WELL AS THAT OF THE ARMS. "TRULY YOURS, W.B. FRANKLIN"

Hartford, CT: 1881. Manuscript, single page, 7-3/4" x 9-3/4". Signed "W.B. Franklin." Minor wear. A few short closed edge tears repaired on blank verso with archival tape. Very Good.

William Buel Franklin [1823-1903], career Army officer and distinguished Union Civil War general, was taken prisoner after the Battle of Sabine Pass but escaped. He also fought at First Bull Run, the Peninsular Campaign, Antietam, Fredericksburg. After the War, Franklin became Colt Firearms' vice president and manager of Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company. After Company founder Samuel Colt died, Franklin oversaw the expansion of Colt's production and modernization. ["William Buel Franklin", Britannica online Encyclopedia; "William Buel Franklin", National Park Service website; "William Buel Franklin", American Battlefield Trust website.]
Benjamin Perley Poore [1820-1887] was an American soldier, journalist, editor and author. A Washington correspondent during the 1850s, he became well known for his colorful letters to The Boston Journal. During the Civil War, he organized a battalion of Newbury riflemen that became the 8th Massachusetts Volunteers; he served as its major for a short time. After the war, he was clerk of the U.S. Senate's Committee on Printing Records; edited the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress in 1867; elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1874; and organized the Gridiron Club in 1885.
The New York Times wrote, "He had a wide acquaintance, having known everybody of consequence in the capital for 30 years or more, was a living storehouse of anecdotes, a popular diner-out, and enjoyed the confidence of many leading public men." ["Ben: Perley Poore Dead", The New York Times, 29 May 1887; "Ben: Perley Poore Dead", The Boston Sunday Globe, 29 May 1887, p.4 and 30 May 1887, p.1; "Benjamin Perley Poore", Wikipedia, accessed 13 July 2026.]. Item #42281

Price: $500.00