American Historical Ephemera & Photography

4 pages, on bifolium, 7 7/8 x 10 in., creased at folds, with one small tear and one stain on each page. On Confederate "State of Virginia. Executive Department, Richmond" letterhead. 

In this letter to his mother, Frederick Hale writes of the goings on in the newly occupied city of Richmond. In part: "We have moved our office from the Seminary to the old U.S. Custom House, in the lower part of the City....Our new office is a much nicer one than the old one, but the location of the building is not so pleasant as it is in the midst of the section destroyed by the fire. Our office is in the second story and commands a beautiful view of the 'ruins.' The City is full of Rebel officers and soldiers, who have been paroled, and grey uniforms are more plenty than blue ones." 

He then compares the reactions to the news of the surrender of General Robert E. Lee, writing: "What a carnival you had at E.[lizabethtown] when you heard of the news of Lee's surrender. be sure there were no such demonstrations made by the citizens of this city. One hundred guns were fired in the Capitol Square the morning after we got the news, and a day or two after, two hundred, by order of the Secretary of War. The last salue terrified the citizens, by whom it was believed that Johnston's Army had surrendered." Of course, less than two weeks after writing those words, General Johnston would surrender to General Sherman in North Carolina. 

Surrounded by so many Confederate soldiers starting to come to grips with the idea of defeat, Hale voices his opinion on the matter, possibly in response to harsh words against the enemy: "I wonder that you are so savages on the rebels now they are so nearly conquered. I think Grant's terms were the right ones, and that a conciliatory policy is the best henceforth." 

Hale also mentions the sourvenirs he is enclosing with his letter: "I send by this mail[?], a lot of Confederate bonds. There are thousands of them in this building, and great quantities of envelopes and paper. This is some of it that I am writing on. I could send a great many relics but I hardly know what to send." Though he also mentions enclosing envelopes, those are not present in this lot. 

Letter accompanied by 3 Confederate bond sheets, including a $500 coupon bond issued by the CSA Treasury Department at Richmond, 24 November 1862 (25 unredeemed coupons remaining); a $1000 coupon bond issued 2 March 1863 (7 unredeemed coupons remaining); and $500 coupon bond issued 2 March 1863 (7 unredeemed coupons remaining). 

Frederick C. Hale enlisted as a private when he was 18 years of age, joining the 118th New York Infantry at Plattsburgh on 29 August 1862. He was quickly recognized for his education and penmanship, and was detached on special duty as Headquarters as Regimental clerk. From that position, he wrote many letters during the Peninsular Campaign, Drury's Bluff, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and finally at Richmond. He mustered out at Richmond on 13 July of 1865, and went on to earn a degree in law, practicing in Chicago.