Governor of Virginia

Signature as U.S. Secretary of War

Escaped capture at Fort Donelson, Tenn. before the fort was captured by General U.S. Grant

(1806-63) Graduated from South Carolina College in 1829. A lawyer by profession, he was elected to the Virginia house of delegates in 1847, and governor of the state in 1848. President Buchanan appointed him Secretary of War in 1857, a post which he occupied until his resignation on December 29, 1860. This was precipitated by the refusal of President Buchanan to order Major Robert Anderson back from Fort Sumter to Fort Moultrie. Floyd was subsequently bitterly criticized in the North for his alleged transfer of unwarranted numbers of arms from Northern to Southern arsenals. Commissioned a Confederate brigadier general on May 23, 1861, he served in the West Virginia campaign under General Robert E. Lee, and was then ordered to Fort Doneslson where he escaped with his own troops prior to the surrender of the fort. He was commissioned a major general of Virginia state troops, but his health soon gave out and he died near Abington, Va., August 26, 1863.

Signature as Secretary of War: 2 x 3/4, in ink, J.B. Floyd, Secry. of War. Mounted to 3 1/2 x 2, black bordered mourning card. Light age toning. Very fine.