American Historical Ephemera and Photography

4 1/4 x 2 1/2 in. cover addressed to Mr. J.B. Underwood of Hartford, Connecticut, bearing the signature "C.L. Vallandigham" at top right and "Free" at top left. Accompanied by
card signed on recto "Clement Laird Vallandigham / Dayton / Ohio" and dated on verso "Jany 25, 1861."Approx. 3 1/4 x 2 in. (light toning). Pencil notation on verso of cover indicates that the card was contained within the cover.

Clement Laird Vallandigham was an American lawyer and politician who served as the leader of the Copperhead faction of anti-war Democrats during the American Civil War. He served as an Ohio state representative, and served two terms for Ohio's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. In 1863, he was convicted by an Army court martial for publicly expressing opposition to the war and exiled to the Confederate States of America. He ran for governor of Ohio in 1863 from exile in Canada, but was defeated.