Quotation about George Washington by Senator Edward Everett Civil War 1863

EVERETT, Edward (1794-1865). Autograph quotation signed on George Washington. Boston: 17 August 1863.
 
Small manuscript slip, approximately 115 x 75 mm, backed onto card. Toned and somewhat soiled, with a few small stains; Good.
 
A signed quotation by the American statesman and orator Edward Everett: "Washington was the greatest of good men and the best of great men."
 
Everett had a distinguished political and diplomatic career, serving as Governor of Massachusetts, United States Minister to Britain, Secretary of State and United States Senator, as well as President of Harvard University. He was also closely involved with the preservation of George Washington's Mount Vernon, raising substantial funds for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association through his public lectures on Washington.
 
The quotation was written during the American Civil War, three months before Everett delivered the principal oration at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery on 19 November 1863, immediately before Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.