Mexican-American War
Mexico City, Mexico, ca. 1848/1876
Truman Seymour 1848 Mexican-American War Inventory List to Darius Couch
AMS

A Mexican-American War inventory list written and signed by soldier and artist, Truman Seymour, with additional notations by future Union general Darius N. Couch. 1p of a bifolium, measuring 5.25" x 8", City of Mexico, dated 1848. Signed "Truman Seymour/1st Artillery" and addressed to Lt. Darius N. Couch, 4th Regiment US Artillery. The nature of the document is not fully known, but it provides a list of nine names together with items issued to them or purchased by them. The date of 1848 is significant because the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which officially ended the Mexican-American War, was signed on February 2, 1848 in Guadalupe Hidalgo (just under 9 miles from Mexico City). The list is in Seymour's hand, while the location, date, and notation at the bottom "My classmate is dead/1876" is all in Couch's hand. Addressed to Couch in Seymour's hand on verso. The document has flattened mail folds, with faint toning and soiling. Boldly signed, overall very fine. This document was removed from a larger scrap album once owned by Darius Couch.

Truman Seymour (1824-1891) and Darius Nash Couch (1822-1897) were both part of the West Point graduating Class of 1846, along with Civil War notables such as Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, George B. McClellan, George Pickett, George Stoneman, Samuel Sturgis, Jesse Lee Reno, and more. We cannot be sure of whom Couch was referring to when he wrote "My classmate is dead", but perhaps it was meant metaphorically in reference to Seymour's retirement from the army. Truman Seymour was both a career soldier and an accomplished painter. After graduating from West Point, he served in the Mexican-American War and participated in the battles of Contreras and Churubusco. He briefly taught drawing at West Point before returning to active military service. He was present at the Battle of Fort Sumter and joined the Union Army when war was officially declared. Over the course of the war he rose to the rank of major general and commanded the Union troops at the Battle of Olustee. After the war, Seymour spent his retirement in Europe as a watercolorist. Although he appears not to have sold his work during his lifetime, his paintings can be found today in museums and private collections. Darius N. Couch also began his military career during the Mexican-American War, also serving in the Second Seminole War and as a Union officer in the Civil War. He notably fought in both the Peninsula and Fredericksburg campaigns, as well as at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. In 1863, Couch was offered command of the Army of the Potomac by President Lincoln but declined due to poor health. After the war, Couch returned to civilian life and unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Massachusetts. He moved to Connecticut in 1871, serving as Quartermaster General and Adjutant General for the state militia, and died in Norwalk, Connecticut in 1897.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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5.25" x 8"