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While Crittenden did not come around to support emancipation broadly nor the use of freedmen as soldiers, he continued to remain an ardent Unionist. He and other border state Unionists were primarily focused on the war effort and reunification and did not want abolitionism to be part of the mix as they saw the issue as too divisive or were themselves personally in support of slavery. Crittenden openly asked why loyal Kentuckians should be asked to give up their slaves when they were already giving so much in the fight for the Union. Though he still wished to retire, he ran for reelection again in the summer of 1863 due to the urging of his friends and never stopped working to reunite the Union but died shortly after returning to his home in Frankfort on July 26, 1863. You can imagine he must have wondered what the nation’s fate would be. Though Crittenden and others had opposed Kentucky being drug into the war, the birth
state of both President Lincoln and Confederate President Jefferson became a key battleground and ultimately supplied 125,000 soldiers to the Union, including more black soldiers for the Union war effort than
any other state aside from Louisiana. With the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment on December 18, 1865, slavery was officially abolished within the United States, but Kentucky refused to ratify the amendment until 1976. Ultimately, thanks to men like two of Crittenden’s younger sons, Union forces prevailed, and the country was reunited. In the years that followed, many of Crittenden’s descendants and relatives served in the U.S. military and government, including his grandson Lieutenant John Jordan Crittenden III, who was killed at the Battle of Little Bighorn in the Great Sioux War of 1876.
After his death, this carbine remained within the Crittenden family and was passed down through several generations until 1992 as documented in the included documentation. An affidavit from Jane Crittenden Harris is included confirming her father was the great grandson of John Jordan Crittenden. She notes “We kept the Lincoln gun under the couch in the den, but I took it to school for show-and-tell on several occasions on Lincoln’s birthday.” She further notes that when her father died, the gun was willed to her brother, John Jordan Crittenden, who then loaned the gun to the Kentucky Military History Museum. A copy of a bill of sale from her brother to her on November 26, 1991, is included, as is a copy of a bill of sale from when it left the family’s possession for the first time on January 25, 1992, to a well-known dealer for $37,500. A document from two days later indicates the dealer promptly resold the carbine for $135,000 to the Alexander Gallery of New York before taking possession
of it. Copies of Mrs. Harris’s father’s will and bequests are also
included and list “John Jordan Crittenden’s sea chest marked with
his name on brass plate” as bequeathed to Jane C. Harris and “A hunting gun given to the first John Jordan Crittenden by Abraham Lincoln” among the items bequeathed to Jordan Crittenden. Other documents relating
to the loan of the carbine to the Kentucky Military History Museum are included. Curator Nicky Hughes of the Kentucky Military History Museum writing to Jordan Crittenden indicated that in 1981 they were preparing
an exhibit for the rifle. The rifle was also featured in the “Roll of Honor” in Man at Arms July/August 1989 issue (included) and noted as “The Burnside Type II .45 [sic] Caliber Carbine presented to Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden by President Abraham Lincoln on February 1, 1862. Crittenden tried to avert the Civil War through compromise.”The photo credits the museum. Many additional documents relating to Senator Crittenden and his family, including his sons who fought in the Civil War, are included.
One is “The Crittenden Memoirs,” a rare and extensive family history. A sheet of three $20 bills from the Farmers Bank of Kentucky with John Jordan Crittenden and his wife is also among the documents. John Jordan Crittenden discussed the rare sheet of bills in an article in the LA Times in March 1990. Also included are E. Anthony carte de visites of Mr. and Mrs. Crittenden. A sword passed down through the family from Colonel Thomas L. Crittenden, J.J. Crittenden’s son, is also in the auction in Lot 1242. CONDITION: Very good. The historic silver inscription panel has aged patina, some small scattered dings, and a crisp inscription. The carbine primarily displays an even, untouched dark brown patina overall. There
are some small traces of original blue finish visible in protected areas. The barrel has a bulge 10 inches from the muzzle. The metal exhibits some mild pitting mainly concentrated around the nipple and breech. The trigger plate/lever catch has a repair. The front upper tang screw is absent. The stock is fine and has some mild dings and scratches, a few dents, slight play in the fit, and some tiny slivers absent. The lock currently will not
hold at half or full-cock, but the lever mechanism is fine. The chest is also
very good and has some cracks, repairs,
absent lining, fragments of newspaper, and
moderate overall wear from age, storage, and use.
The inscription on the chest lid is crisp. This rare early Civil
War carbine is easily one of the most historically significant firearms in existence. Its inscription from President Abraham Lincoln to Congressman John J. Crittenden early in the Civil War as the fate of the Union remained in peril, makes it an incredible artifact from the most divisive period in our nation’s history and demonstrates that even during that period, Americans tried to work together to resolve pressing issues despite different political values. Abraham Lincoln is famously reported to have said, “I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky.” To have Kentucky on his side, he needed Crittenden.
Provenance: John J. Crittenden from President Abraham Lincoln; The Crittenden Family Collection; The Kevin Hoffman Collection; Property of a Gentleman.
Estimate: 100,000 - 300,000
"I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game. Kentucky gone, we can not hold Missouri, nor, as I think, Maryland. These all against us, and the job on our hands is too large for us." - President Abraham Lincoln, September 22, 1861, Letter to Orville Browning
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