Autograph letter signed by Brig. Gen. Alexander S. Webb. New York City, New York, post July 1863. 1 page, 8vo, 5 x 8 in., matted and framed to 11 x 14 in. With modern pencil notations to bottom edge and upper right corner. 

Letter from Brig. Gen. Webb (1835-1911) to John B. Bachelder (1825-1894) regarding a "colored proof" of one of Bachelder's maps. Webb sent $15 along with this letter to Bachelder for this map proof. 

Bachelder was known as a preeminent 19th century historian regarding the Battle of Gettysburg, studying the terrain and eventually producing several lithographic maps. It is likely then that Webb was writing and paying for one of Bachelder's map proofs of Gettysburg. 

After graduating from West Point and serving in the Seminole War, Webb served as part of the U.S. Army in the Civil War, participating in the First Battle of Bull Run, the Peninsula Campaign, the Battle of Antietam, and the Battle of Chancellorsville.

What he is remembered for, though, is his service in the Battle of Gettysburg. By now, President Lincoln appointed him brigadier general, and Webb assumed control of the Philadelphia Brigade, 2nd Division, II Corps. On 2 July 1863, Webb and his brigade repulsed a Confederate advance on Cemetery Hill, captured about 300 men, and reclaimed a Union battery. Then, on 3 July 1863, while defending Pickett's Charge, Webb personally led his men through active fire, suffering a wound to the thigh and groan, bringing Confederate action to a standstill and inflicting heavy casualties. For this, he received the Medal of Honor in 1891. 

Webb continued to fight in the Civil War, even suffering from a bullet that went through his right eye and came out his ear, resulting in no mental impairments. He was appointed as brevet brigadier general and brevet major general by war's end. He stayed in the military until taking over as the president of the City College of New York from 1869-1902. After his death, he was buried in West Point National Cemetery and a statue of him was erected in the Gettysburg National Military Park in 1915. 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Gettysburg, Little Round Top, Culp's Hill, Pickett's Charge, Devil’s Den]  [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs]