Scrapbook of Robert S. Garnett, West Point Class of 1841

Item Details

West Point Class of 1841 scrapbook of Robert S. Garnett, the first Confederate general killed in the Civil War. Around 1850, Garnett gifted his scrapbook – containing nearly 80 signatures, including those of at least 20 classmates such as Alexander Hamilton’s grandson Schuyler Hamilton; Alfred Sully, who would go on to become a noted landscape painter; and Garnett’s cousin Richard B. Garnett, who became a brigadier general and was killed at Gettysburg during Pickett’s Charge – to Miss Louisa Cross, a young lady (and general’s daughter). Miss Cross, who actually later married John Clemson Jr. and lived a life of relative obscurity, and her family also used the scrapbook; it appears her children scribbled in the book, and some pages are missing. The book includes a full-page transcription of the 1848 George Lemon ballad, “The Lark Sings Blithely in the Sky,” inscribed to Miss Cross by (assumed) suitor Prospero Vallarino, a native of Panama and good friend of President James Buchanan’s nephew (and chief of staff) James Buchanan Henry.  The album was manufactured by London publisher/stationer W. & H. Rock. Garnett’s career included service as commandant of cadets at West Point; advisor to Gen. (President) Zachary Taylor; and he was briefly Gen. Robert E. Lee’s chief of staff. The 80-page, well-worn book (the spine is loose) contains six original graphite drawings by Garnett – who while serving in California in 1849 drew what became the State of California seal, at least three original works by Sully, and others. This one-of-a-kind album is an extraordinary glimpse into mid-19^th Century America.