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ALS by Confederate naval officer Arthur Sinclair

Arthur SINCLAIR. Autograph Letter Signed "A Sinclair" written prior to his resignation from the US Navy to join the Confederate one.

"U. S. Ship Pennsylvania" Norfolk: 22 January 1861. 1 p. (249 x 200 mm). Sinclair writes to an unknown correspondent: "... As you will perceive I am in command of this Ship, having been ordered at my own request, on the 15th inst - I have just returned from Washington, while there I was in charge of the new Steam Sloop Pensacola. The Secretary [of the Navy, Isaac Toucey] received me with great kindness & was very complimentary..." Sinclair, a Virginia native, was appointed a Commander in the Confederate States Navy on 10 June 1861. His commands included Fort Norfolk, Elizabeth River, 1861; C.S.S. Winslow during the Battle of Hatteras Inlet, 28-29 August 1861; Gosport Navy Yard, 1861-62; Charlotte, N.C., 1862; and Richmond Station, 1862. In 1863, Sinclair was given command of the C.S.S. Atlanta. Sinclair drowned on 14 January 1865, when the blockade runner Lelia foundered.