American Historical Ephemera & Photography

Letters span August 1863 - June 1864, and primarily constitute correspondence related to the procurement of beef and other food supplies  for Confederate troops.

Documents include the following: a letter authorizing Maj. P.W. White and other officers and agents to receive a "tax in kind" in east and south Florida, Richmond, Va., 27 October 1863, on "Assistant Quartermaster General's Office" letterhead, with docketing on verso and endorsement signed ("P.W. White") by White; Special Orders No. 258 which detached Capt. James McKay A.Q.M. 4th Florida Volunteers from his regiment for "special service" under Maj. P.W. White, Richmond, 30 October 1863, on "Adjutant and Inspector General's Office" letterhead; a letter to Maj. P.W. White regarding the seizure of hogs for a Confederate company, Gainesville, 3 December 1863, on "Office of Engineer and Superintendent Florida Railroad" letterhead, with endorsement on verso signed ("P.W. White") by White; letter to Maj. P.W. White regarding the appointment of an agent by the Subsistence Department to conduct fisheries, Richmond, 21 January 1864, on "Confederate States of America Subsistence Department" letterhead, with endorsement on verso signed ("P.W. White") by White; and letter to Maj. P.W. White regarding use of conscripts and "the organization into companies of cattle drivers," Richmond, 26 May 1864, on "Confederate States of America Subsistence Department" letterhead.

Florida played a critical part of the Confederate war effort particularly when it attained the status of the most important cattle-producing state for the Confederate Army. Major Pleasant Woodson White, Chief Commissary Officer for Florida and commander of the depot at Quincy, FL, played a large role in overseeing the supply of beef and other food supplies from Florida to Confederate troops. The letters offered here reflect a time period in which supplies, especially beef, were becoming increasingly scarce threatening Confederate troops with starvation. Commissary officials such as White worked to meet the requisitions from the Army of the Tennessee and Charleston, but the inadequate number of cattle and cattle drivers coupled with other factors ultimately prevented an adequate amount of food supplies from reaching the Confederate troops.