Beschreibung:

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.