2025-01 Raynors Historical Collectible Auctions
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/25/2025
Caleb Huse (1831-1905) was a major in the Confederate States Army, acting primarily as an arms procurement agent and purchasing specialist during the American Civil War. He is most well known for his successful acquisition of weapons contracts with various European nations including the United Kingdom, Austria, and to a lesser extent, France, Prussia, and Bohemia. A majority of the weapons imported to the Confederacy from foreign powers during the war were negotiated for and purchased by Huse. Autograph Letter Signed “C.H.”, 2pp., 5” x 3”, nd., np. In part, “After receiving my letter from Macquard to Col. Fave, I regretted that I had asked for it. For I did not want to have anything to do with anyone till I had seen the Emperor. So I took no interpreter ... the result was a few moments of bowing and scraping. Col. F. no wiser ... He is an agreeable man ...” Huse arrived safely in Liverpool, England on May 10, 1861. His first mandate was to purchase 12,000 rifles and a battery of field artillery, and to procure one or two guns of larger caliber as models. Huse's first contract was with the London Armoury Company, where he identified, outbid, and outmaneuvered Union arms agents such as George Schuyler and Marcellus Hartley to secure the bid. Unlike many of his Union counterparts, Huse possessed a military background and more importantly, he had the ability to make financial decisions without government consent. This would allow him to eventually secure for the Confederacy all of the weapons from London Armory for the entire length of the war. The French Colonel Fave was aide dec amp to Napoleon III.
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