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BLEEDING SUMNER (CIVIL WAR.) SUMNER, CHARLES. Autograph Letter Signed, to John D. Baldwin, concerning the attack against him by Preston Brooks,
BLEEDING SUMNER (CIVIL WAR.) SUMNER, CHARLES. Autograph Letter Signed, to John D. Baldwin, concerning the attack against him by Preston Brooks, detailing his health, wishing he could travel home but not wanting to leave Washington, insisting that he keep his position in the Senate, and hoping that support for him be equalled by the rallying of the people for the Northern cause. 4 pages, folded 8vo sheet. Cresson, 26 August 1856
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Notes: important letter on the infamous ante-bellum attack by preston brooks.
Perceiving an insult to his cousin (South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler) in Sumner's famous "The Crime Against Kansas" speech, Congressman Preston Brooks attacked Sumner in the Senate chamber on 22 May 1856, beating him repeatedly with a cane. The incident further inflamed the sectional divisions in the country, with Northerners demanding that Brooks be punished, while Southerners touted Brooks as a hero. Indeed, many of his supporters sent him new canes carved with mottos such as "Hit him again."
In this letter, one of very few contemporary letters discussing the incident, Sumner writes: "From the beginning I have been deceived about my case. At first I supposed I should be about in a day or two; then it was a week; & when I was confined to my bed, just so soon as my wounds healed... I walk with difficulty, &, if for any distance, with pressure on my brain... Of course, though convalescent, I am still an invalid... I was unwilling to get so far away from Washington to which I hoped to return soon, for I couldn't give up the idea of getting to my seat in the Senate... Nor have I any heart for what is called a public reception. I do not desire it. At this moment of Crime, let us not spend anything in testimonies to men. Let all our effort go to rally the people..."
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