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Hon. Geo. P. Marsh

My dear friend, I have just received a letter from General Sherman saying he will dine with me at 6. o'clock Monday Feb 12. We hope for the pleasure of your company on that occasion, and deeply regret the Ladies of your family are unable to join

you.

Most Sincerely yoursGeo. P. A. Healy

Wednesday evening
Feb 7 1872.
54. Via Gregoriana.

References in this letter:

William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) a Union general in the Civil War. After burning Atlanta on November 15, 1864, he led the famous march to the sea, destroying Savannah on Dec 21st.

The American portrait painter, George Peter Alexander Healy (1813-1894), was one of the most popular artists of his time. He is known for his paintings of presidents, statesman, and members of Society on both sides of the Atlantic. A native of Boston, he studied in France under Antoine-Jean Gros and established a studio in Paris. In 1840, the U.S. Minister to France, General Lewis Cass, introduced Healy to King Louis Phillippe, and his reputation was established in Europe. In all, Healy made thirty trans-Atlantic trips but settled in Chicago at the behest of a wealthy Illinois businessman, William Butler Ogden.