American Historical Ephemera & Early Photography Online

1 1/4 pages, on bifolium, 4 1/2 x 7 in., creased along old folds.

In full: "My dear Miss Kittie: I don't know what Mrs. Babcock has said in her note of invitation but I beg you to believe how heartily I join in it. The hope to have Gen. Thomas and one or two foreign Diplomats to meet you. With great respect & regards, Your servant, Adam Badeau. 151 G Street / Wednesday / Miss Hilt."

Adam Badeau served as a staff officer for Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War, giving him a prime opportunity to study the man for a three-volume biography of Grant he would author after the war entitled Military History of Ulysses S. Grant. During the war, Badeau participated in the Sieges of Corinth and Port Hudson, where he was severely wounded. After recovering, he joined Grant's staff as a brevet lieutenant colonel, taking part in the Wilderness and Appomattox campaigns and being promoted to brevet colonel. By the time he left the Army well after the war, he had attained the brevet rank of brigadier general. Badeau served in a multitude of diplomatic roles in the 1870s and 80s, at which time he likely penned the letter featured here.