By Paige Bright
Herald Intern
The City of Sanford, incorporated in 1877 by Henry Shelton Sanford, is home to brick-lined roads, local businesses, and bustling crowds on First Street. Founding the town, though, is one of Sanford’s less thrilling achievements. Henry Sanford was a close correspondent of Abraham Lincoln, United States Minister to Belgium, and a much larger part of the Civil War than anyone could have imagined, or that most have heard of. David Perry, a retired high school and college U.S. and European history professor, wishes to change that narrative.
“Sanford is an interesting guy, larger than life,” Perry said. “People loved him or hated him. I really don’t know how he got overlooked.” Partnering with staff at the Sanford Museum, David began studying letters, documents, and even grade school homework assignments to piece together Henry Sanford’s intricate life. “I’m really quite surprised with all that’s here, and Sanford kept everything,” Perry said. “He kept school essays and papers from when he was 12, 13 years old. He wanted to be remembered by history very deliberately.”
David has written and published several books about the Civil War, most recently publishing “Lincoln’s Minister of Mystery: Henry Shelton Sanford and Civil War Intelligence.” The novel follows Sanford’s assistance to Lincoln during the Civil War, including being Lincoln’s unofficial “secret service”, collecting gunpowder and guns, and ensuring that no other wars would distract Lincoln from handling the Civil War. Sanford successfully intercepted almost half a million pounds of gunpowder from under Great Britain with the assistance of his intelligence network, which he created, leading the British to ban all exportation of guns.
“One of the first things that we get at the museum when people come, they’re thinking Henry Sanford is this guy who lived here and made Sanford,” Bridgette, Sanford Museum curator, said. “Sanford, the city, is a footnote in his career.” Henry Sanford purchased the land as he believed it would become the transportation hub for Southern Florida, although he spent little time in the town, and faced hardships with the citrus produced there. After freezing temperatures killed the year's worth of crops, the city and its citizens felt heavy economic struggles, with many leaving the area. Regardless of the inconveniences that Sanford faced in its early years, the city continued to flourish and expand, with no end in sight.
“Henry Sanford’s legacy is not vested in Florida infrastructure or the city which bears his name,” Perry said. “His lasting gift is the Civil War intelligence network he developed.” Sanford threw lavish parties and was a presence unforgettable to those he met. He was either loved or hated, and his life ended with most hating him. Sanford passed away in 1891 from bladder cancer, leaving behind his wife and seven children.
“When everybody said, ‘the sky is falling, the sky is falling’, he said, 'wait a minute, wait a minute, no it’s not. Lincoln was able to divert all of his energies, money, guns, and everything else to defeat the Confederacy,” Perry said. “He didn’t have to worry about, you know, possible invasion, which would divert forces, money, resources, everything. So, Sanford was directly and indirectly heavily involved in the winning of the Civil War, to a greater extent than I had any imagining.”
David Perry will be hosting a book talk discussing the research and contents of his book “Lincoln’s Minister of Mystery: Henry Shelton Sanford and Civil War Intelligence” at the Sanford Museum on May 21. The Sanford Museum, located at 520 E 1st St, Sanford, is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information on David Perry’s book talk or for general museum inquiries, contact the museum at 407-688-5198 or at [email protected].
