Wife of the legendary Confederate General George E. Pickett of Gettysburg fame!

Includes some extra items....

(1843-1931) Born in Nansemond County, Virginia, she was the eldest of nine children, of David John Corbell, and Elizabeth Phillips Corbell, wealthy owners of a slave plantation near Suffolk, Virginia. "Sallie Ann" attended the Lynchburg Female Seminary in Lynchburg, and at the outbreak of the War Between the States, a very passionate romance blossomed between young La Salle, and her swashbuckling, flamboyant, and sometimes controversial long haired Confederate General George E. Pickett. He rode a sleek black charger named "Old Black," and wore a small blue kepi style cap, with buffed leather gloves over the sleeves of an immaculately tailored uniform that had a double row of gold buttons on the coat, and shiny gold spurs on his highly polished boots. He held an elegant riding crop whether mounted or walking. His mustache drooped gracefully beyond the corners of his mouth, and then turned upward at the ends. His hair was the talk of the Southern Army, it being styled in long ringlets that flowed loosely over his shoulders, and was highly perfumed, with his curling beard smelling of the sweet scent of Araby. He was both a dashing and colorful sight to behold. When teasingly asked by his fellow generals if he stole the perfume he wore from a dead Frenchman, he quickly replied, No! it was a gift from my lovely Miss Sallie. Sometimes the daring Pickett would slip away from his command to be with his darling Miss Corbell, a practice that did not sit well with some of his fellow Confederate officers and men. To Miss Sallie however, she considered it to be a sign of Pickett's chivalric love, and undying dedication to her.

The couple were married at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, Petersburg, Va., on September 15, 1863, and Mrs. Pickett was given the sobriquet "Child Bride of the Confederacy." Their marriage took place about 2 1/2 months after the bitter defeat of General Robert E. Lee’s historic Army of Northern Virginia at the epic 3 day battle of Gettysburg. It was at Gettysburg, on July 3, 1863, that General George E. Pickett’s name was immortalized into American history forever connecting him to the disastrous charge that bears his name, "Pickett’s Charge."

As General Lee rode out to meet the retreating men of Pickett’s division after their repulse on that very hot July 3rd afternoon, he came across the shell shocked General Pickett, and ordered him to rally his division and take up a defensive position to repel the Yankee counter attack that he fully expected. It was then that General Pickett uttered his famous words to his superior, "General Lee, I have no division" and the 38 year old Pickett never fully recovered from the tremendous losses his division suffered on that fateful day on the farmlands of southern Pennsylvania. Pickett thenceforward blamed the iconic General Robert E. Lee for the devastating losses suffered by his division in the doomed frontal assault on the well-fortified Union position on Cemetery Ridge, at the battle of Gettysburg.

General Pickett’s star was tarnished that day in the eyes of those Confederate officers who were the intimates of their beloved "Marse Robert," who they held in the highest esteem and with much loyalty.

La Salle Corbell Pickett bore the general two sons, George E. Pickett, Jr., born in Richmond, Va., on July 17, 1864, and David Corbell Pickett, born on May 25, 1866, the younger son dying in 1874, only having reached the age of 8 years old.

George E. Pickett, Jr., attended the Virginia Military Institute, and served in the United States Army with the rank of major during the Philippine Insurrection. He died at sea on the army transport "Logan" while traveling from Manila to San Francisco, on April 18, 1911. Pickett, Jr. is buried at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia, near the grave sites of the sons of Confederate General James Longstreet; James Longstreet, Jr., and Robert Lee Longstreet.

Mrs. La Salle Corbell Pickett, lived for over 55 years after the death of her husband, who died in Norfolk, Virginia, on July 30, 1875, at the age of 50. He was initially interred in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Norfolk. His remains were later disinterred and buried in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia, on October 24, 1875. More than 40,000 people lined the funeral route, and another 5,000 mourners marched in the funeral procession.

General Pickett spent the last years of his life brooding about the disastrous charge at Gettysburg that immortalized his name forever in Civil War history.

Mrs. "Sallie" Pickett spent the rest of her life revitalizing the general’s memory and military history, as she became a prolific author, and widely successful lecturer, transforming General George E. Pickett into the "hero of Gettysburg," in the tradition of the "Lost Cause." At the 1887 Gettysburg reunion, she signed autographs and shook hands with veterans of both the Union and Confederate armies. In fact, because her writing, and "Lost Cause" writing in general, was accepted across sectional boundaries, it became an important part of the country’s reconciliation. Enthusiasm over Mrs. Pickett’s lecture on Gettysburg surpasses anything ever known here one veteran from Boston wrote in 1910. It was the first time in history, that more than 2,000 Bostonian's ever stood up when the band played Dixie.

She moved to Washington, D.C. in the 1880's and lived there until the end of her life, working at the U.S. Pension Office, and supplementing her income with her book publishing and public speaking engagements.

She authored the celebratory history "Pickett and His Men," "The Heart of a Soldier, As Revealed in the Intimate Letters of General George E. Pickett," and "Soldier of the South: General Pickett's War Letters to His Wife."

La Salle Corbell Pickett died on March 22, 1931. Initially, Hollywood Cemetery, in Richmond, Va., refused to allow her to be buried next to her husband. Pickett's grandson, Lieutenant George E. Pickett III, threatened to have his grandfather’s remains disinterred and moved to Arlington National Cemetery where both of his grandparents could be buried side by side. Hollywood Cemetery reconsidered their decision, and agreed to permit Mrs. Pickett's interment at Hollywood Cemetery, to be reunited once more with her general, but this did not happen until many years later for reasons that are unclear. La Salle Corbell Pickett was then cremated and buried at Abbey Mausoleum in Arlington County, Va. Finally in 1998, the Military Order of the Stars and Bars, and the United Daughters of the Confederacy worked together to raise enough money to pay for Mrs. Pickett's disinterment and her reburial in front of the General George E. Pickett Memorial in Hollywood Cemetery.

Mrs. Pickett was buried on March 21, 1998, and she was forever reunited with her gallant George. Sallie Pickett was the first woman ever interred in the Confederate military burial section of this hallowed cemetery. Source: Encyclopedia Virginia.

Typed Letter Signed: on an 8 x 10, imprinted and illustrated letter sheet, with vignette of an owl, crossed pens and a brush, and bearing a spectacular, huge ink signature, "La Salle Corbell Pickett."

League of American Pen Women
Headquarters: Washington, D.C.

The imprint lists the names and appropriate titles and related information of 11 different women with the first name at the upper left being that of Mrs. La Salle Corbell Picket, President, The Ontario.

The Ontario***, June 9, 1909

Miss Alberta J. Morgan
Malden, Massachusetts

Dear Miss Morgan:

Your letter of May 31 was received, requesting autographs. It is not possible for me to send you the General's autograph because I have had so many requests for it through all these years that there are none remaining. I would willingly send it to you if I had one.

I take the pleasure in sending you my own.

With kindest regards, I am
Sincerely yours,

La Salle Corbell Pickett

Light age toning and minor wear. There is an old period mounting strip along one edge on the reverse of the letter that does not really detract. Very fine content regarding General Pickett's autograph with a superb signature of his famous wife. Extremely desirable! Mrs. Pickett was always an extremely popular personality with collectors!

The letter comes with a few bonus items as follows:

1. An old photograph of General Pickett and his wife La Salle Corbell Pickett, on a 5 x 8 page, with the caption, "General And Mrs. Pickett. From a miniature after a likeness taken about the time of their marriage." This came out of an old book approximately circa 1900.

2. Old newspaper photograph of Mrs. Pickett with the caption, "Mrs. La Salle C. Pickett, Photo by Clinedinst." (studio in Washington, D.C.). Caption below the image reads: "Orator At The Memorial Exercises Of Edward W. Kinsley Post In Tremont Temple." 4 1/4 x 6 1/2. Affixed to a piece of an old album page, 4 1/4 x 9 1/2, with a small newspaper clipping glued below regarding a lecture Mrs. Pickett is giving about General Pickett and the battle of Gettysburg. Circa early 1900's.

3. Pair of old copy photographs of General George E. Pickett in his Confederate general's uniform. The smaller one measures, 2 1/2 x 3 1/2, while the larger one measures, 7 1/2 x 10.

***The "Ontario" was the name given to the house Mrs. Pickett lived in on Ontario Road, N.W., in Washington, D.C.