Autographed Letter Signed by John B. Floyd Confederate Brigadier General

Autographed Letter Signed by John B. Floyd Confederate Brigadier General, Secretary of War, and Governor of Virginia 
 
A historically important one-page autographed letter signed “J. B. Floyd” as Secretary of War under President James Buchanan. Measuring 7.75 x 10 inches, the letter is addressed to Attorney General Jeremiah S. Black and reads in full:
 
Executive Department 
 
January 23, 1857   
Sir,  
 In compliance with a resolution of the general assembly of the state, I have the honor to communicate herewith a report and resolution on the subject of revolutionary claims, adopted by that body on the 22nd Instant.  
 
Very respectfully,  
 Your obt. servt.  
 John. B. Floyd  
 
 Hon. J. S. Black  
Attorney General
 
John Buchanan Floyd (1806–1863) served as Governor of Virginia (1849–1852), U.S. Secretary of War (1857–1860), and Confederate brigadier general. His tenure as Secretary was marred by allegations of corruption and favoritism toward Southern interests; after resigning on December 29, 1860, he accepted a Confederate commission. His surrender of Fort Donelson in February 1862—against the wishes of generals Pillow and Buckner—proved a catastrophic blow to the Confederacy, opening the Cumberland River to Union invasion and earning Floyd Jefferson Davis’s lasting censure.