Letters to Thomas Sully, c.1838-1862.

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Letters to Thomas Sully, c.1838-1862.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/635577681

Photocopies of 6 letters written from Alfred Sully to his father, renowned portrait painter Thomas Sully (1783-1872). The first letter, addressed to Thomas Sully in London, was written while Alfred Sully was a cadet at West Point, which he calls "as dull as can be." He writes of the daily life of a cadet and of the ease of his examinations, but that he is not doing as well academically as he could be. The second letter was written at sea in 1848, probably when Sully was traveling to California to take up his army post at Monterey. Sully complains of the heat and small space and also describes his fellow passengers. The next letter was written while Sully was serving as quartermaster at Monterey in 1849, and he answers his father's question about his possible marriage by saying "I have not yet seen any body in this country good enough for me." The fourth letter was written from Benicia, California, shortly after Sully's arrival there from San Francisco. He writes of his pay cut ("Politics, politics, nothing but politics in all these transactions of our government") and his inability to leave California. A fifth letter was written while at anchor at Fort Monroe, Virginia, in 1862, and in the final letter, written in November 1862, Sully laments the removal of George McClellan, writing "whatever the world may say of him, he certainly had the heart of the old Army of the Potomac with him."

6 letters, facsimiles.

Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens

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SNAC Resource ID: 7892502

Related Entities

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United States. Army. Minnesota Infantry Regiment, 1st (1861-1865)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6xx5b5s (corporateBody)

McClellan, George B. (George Brinton), 1826-1885

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fs0m24 (person)

George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th Governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McClellan served with distinction during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), and later left the Army to work on railroads until the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861–1865). Early in the conflict, McClellan was appointed to the rank of major general and played an important role i...

Sully, Alfred, 1821-1879

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63v03k7 (person)

Alfred Sully (1821-1879), army officer. From the description of Alfred Sully papers 1816-1974. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702127356 Alfred Sully, son of portrait artist Thomas Sully, was a United States Army officer and trained topographer residing in California from 1847 to 1853. During that time he married Manuela de la Guerra, a granddaughter of José de la Guerra. Sully left California in 1853, following the 1851 death of his young wife and child. From th...

United States. Army

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6km312r (corporateBody)

The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States Armed Forces and performs land-based military operations. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States and is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution, Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1 and United States Code, Title 10, Subtitle B, Chapter 301, Section 3001. As the largest and senior branch of the U.S. military, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which wa...

Sully, Thomas, 1783-1872

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pv6mgn (person)

Artist Thomas Sully was born in London, although his actor parents soon emigrated to the United States. A trip back to England to study painting expanded his horizons, and upon his return to the United States he developed a reputation as a first rate painter. He specialized in portraits, especially portraits of women, and painted full-length portraits of many public and private figures. He is perhaps most closely associated with his portrait of Queen Victoria and for his painting, Washington cro...

United States Military Academy

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67x01xt (corporateBody)

West Point, N.Y., was originally utilized as a strategic defense location during the American Revolution. West Point is geographically located on a 100 ft. plateau overlooking the Hudson River. After the American victory Congress created a Corps of Invalids (veterans) that were transferred to West Point for the purpose of instructing candidates for commission. In 1802 Congress legally established the United States Military Academy at West Point. The Academy produced many leaders of American forc...