CONFEDERATE NAVY: TALLAHASSEE / FLA // SEP / 25 cds with matching PAID 10 (rate in manuscript – CC Type A) on cover to Sergeant N. W. Eppes, Howel[l] Guards Capt. [Richard] Parkhill, Hon S. R. Mallory, Sec’ry Navy, Richmond, Virginia. Slightly reduced at left. Scarce use to a member of Howell Guards, a Florida Infantry unit. Military records of Eppes and Parkhill and brief bio of Mallory included. Ex Monroe and Myerson. $600.

Nicholas Ware Eppes (1843-1904) was 19 years old when he was mustered in to Co. M, Florida 2nd Infantry, Rain’s Brigade, Army of Peninsula, as a Sergeant. He also served in Co. C, Florida 5th Infantry, Longstreet’s Division, ANV, and Co. H, Florida 1st Cavalry, ATN. He rose in the ranks to 2nd Lieutenant. He was described a 6’ with florid complexion, dark eyes and hair.

Richard C. Parkhill was 23 years old when he enlisted at Tallahassee as a 3rd Lieut and was commissioned into Co. M, Florida 2nd Infantry. He resigned due to disability on 1-13-63. He was severely wounded in the shoulder 6-30-62 at Frazier’s Farm, VA, shortly after his promotion to Captain.

Stephen R. Mallory (1812-1873) was the Secretary of the Navy of the Confederate States of America. Born circa 1813 in Trinidad, he was raised mostly in Key West, Florida. He began his professional career in the early 1800s practicing maritime law in the Florida Keys. Eventually he went into politics, representing Florida in the U.S. Senate. There, he was appointed to the Senate Committee on Naval Affairs, which he eventually chaired. When Florida seceded, Mallory joined the fledgling Confederacy. President Jefferson Davis appointed him Secretary of the C.S. Navy March 4, 1861. Following the conclusion of the war, Mallory was arrested by the U.S. government and imprisoned for “treason.” No trial of any kind was conducted and in March 1866, President Andrew Johnson granted Mallory a parole, which released him from jail. Eventually, he was allowed to return to Florida, where he settled in Pensacola. Per the terms of his parole, he was barred from holding public office, but he made a decent living by resuming his law practice. Much more information may be found online.