Charleston, S.C. 5¢ blue #16X1 tied by neat town cancel on cover to Maj. Henry Summer, Secty. B. of Trustees Newberry Col[lege] Newberry C. H., S.C.  Original letter headed jany 2nd 1862 to Maj. Summerfrom Rev. John Bachman. Damp stains showing slightly on cover and much more so on letter with resulting holes. None the less quite legible in dark pen. Bachman is concerned with the great difficulty of those in the lower country and especially from Charleston and suggesting that they bring their meetings nearer to each other for the sake of all. [SC], SCV $2,500.  $1,750.
 
The Rev. John Bachman (1790-1874) was a gifted, industrious man with many talents and interests. He served the same Charleston, South Carolina church as pastor for 56 years but still found time to conduct natural history studies that caught the attention of noted bird artist John James Audubon and eminent scientists in England, Europe, and beyond. He was a proponent of secular and religious education and helped found Newberry College and the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, as well as the South Carolina Lutheran Synod. Bachman was a social reformer who ministered to African-American slaves and freemen alike, and he used his natural history knowledge to become one of the first writers to argue scientifically that blacks and whites are the same species. His accomplishments span a lifetime punctuated by the unrest of the Civil War--a conflict that caused him great consternation and may have brought about his premature death due to injuries suffered at the hands of Union soldiers. Despite his seminal achievements, Bachman is usually overlooked in accounts of important figures from the 19th century, and he is seldom mentioned in history courses--even in South Carolina schools. http://www.johnbachman.org/HIntroductionMain.html