AUGUSTA GA SEP 7 double-circle datestamp with matching PAID 10 (type G, CCV $200) on commercially made envelope posted to Honble A. H. Stephens, Richmond, Virginia, with emphatic notation “Private” at upper left, “Pd Chge Key Box No HHC” at upper right, top back flap partially removed, as is usual for Stephens correspondence, and repaired edge faults across top. Red wax wafer sealing back flaps and usual secretarial notes stating, “H. H. Cumming, Augusta, Ga 7th Sept. warns Mr. Stephens to be cautious in receiving as true any information that one Henry Bird may give the Govt.” It is not clear exactly who Henry Bird was; there is more than one plausible alternative. $125.

Henry H. Cumming (1799-1866) was an influential antebellum lawyer, businessman, and civic leader in Augusta, Ga. He is best known as the "Father of the Augusta Canal," which he conceived and promoted to power local textile and cotton mills. His father was Augusta’s first mayor.