Autograph letter signed by DeForest Hedges. Denver, [Colorado], 9 October 1861. 4 pages, 8vo. 

A rare letter written by a frontiersman, DeForest Hedges, from Denver, where he witnessed the raising of the 1st and 2nd Colorado Infantries, as well as an attempt to raise a Confederate regiment. 

He writes to a friend: "There is nothing of importance transpiring here excepting the military movements. They have received orders here to raise two regiments of soldiers. One regiment is already full and the second is in progress. They have been building barracks near the town for the soldiers' winter quarters. It is expected that the Rebels & Indians will attack this town this fall. They will meet with a warm reception if they do. We will give them the best that our guns afford." 

He continues with a report on the attempt to raise a Confederate force in Denver: "We have got a secession Captain by the name of McKey in prison here charged with treason. He was raising a company of secession Rebels but his plans did not work & he may get his cotton neck stretched if he don't look out."

Captain Joel McKee reportedly had a secret camp at the ghost town of Russellville in 1861 and recruited a group of about 45. In October 1861, they attempted to make for Texas but McKee was arrested in Denver on the order of Colorado Territory Governor William Gilpin. His band continued without him but was captured near Fort Wise by the 2nd United States Cavalry. When McKee petitioned for a Writ of Habeas Corpus, it was denied with the argument by the court that it does not apply to persons who engage in open rebellion or invasion of public safety. Reportedly, they escaped in February 1862 and made their way South. 

A rare Colorado Civil War letter.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs]

Some toning, occasional period ink spots.