CSA 10a, 10¢ milky blue Frameline (full frames at top and left, letter file fold stamp crease) tied by MOBILE ALA JUN 2 1863 double-circle datestamp on folded letter to Hon. Jeremiah Morton, Mitchell’s Station, Culpepper County, Virginia. The 2-page letter salutation is to “Col. Jerry Morton” which begins by relaying the health status of various men by name, detailing a case of the pox and such. (Click for page 1 of letter / Click for page 2 of letter) He mentions being dissatisfied with the management of the negroes employed by the Quartermaster’s Department at Mobile. “Since the Troops left Mobile they have not work enough to keep them fully employed and I find them in all parts of the city … Idleness is the Mother of Vice and it is impossible to keep negroes out of mischief unless you give them employment.” Signed D.M. Prichard. Docketing notes that there is another letter enclosed (not present) in which Major Thomas B. Reed wants to buy Jeff, presumably an enslaved African-American, and will take $2,600. Upside down on front “Major Thomas B. Reed Care of Major Gen. M.L. Smith, Vicksburg, Miss.” Paper loss at three corners of the folded letter but not readily visible because of underlying letter pages. Click to see front and back docketing on outside of folded letter. $2,500.

 Hon. Jeremiah Morton (1799-1878) was a wealthy landowner who was a politician, lawyer, physician, and architect from Virginia. He attended Washington College (now Washington & Lee University), as well as the College of William & Mary, where he studied law. His older brother was Senator Jackson Morton of Florida. On account of illness, Jeremiah abandoned the practice of law and engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1848, he was elected to Congress as a Whig and served a single term, from 1849 to 1851. Defeated for reelection, he resumed his agricultural pursuits. He was a delegate to the Virginia secession convention in 1861. Jeremiah owned three large farms in Virginia, as well as inheriting more from his mother. He used slave labor to run the farms.

Maj. Gen. Martin Luther Smith (1819-1866), at the time of this letter, was commanding the Second Military District, Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. He was one of the many gentlemen of Northern birth who, residing in the South, adopted the sentiments of the people among whom they lived, and with zeal and loyalty supported the Confederate cause. Born in New York, he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1838. As an engineer, he planned and constructed the defenses of Vicksburg. He held the position of chief engineer for the Army of Northern Virginia, and later held the same position with the Army of Tennessee.