A brief letter (below) of 1864 in which Ulysses S Grant agrees to General William T Sherman’s ‘March to the Sea’, a bold plan to destroy Atlanta, then march across Georgia to Savannah or Charleston during the American Civil War, sold for $100,000 (£75,755) on October 19, at Heritage Auctions (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) in Dallas.
Much less expensive in the military conquest line, but very appealing in a different, almost comic sort of way was a film contract signed by the Mexican revolutionary, General ‘Pancho’ Villa, that sold at $5000 (£3790).
Needing money to bolster his revolutionary aims, Villa agreed in a document signed in El Paso, Texas, in January 1914, that for $10 plus 20% on all net returns he would grant the Mutual Film Corporation exclusive rights to film his troops’ operations and battles. Villa (right) also offered protection for the film crew.