Letter from F. S. Blount, chief agent of impressment, to Captain Charles E. Sherman in Mobile, Alabama.
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@ Alabama Department of Archives and History, 624 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36130
Description
In the letter Blount informs Sherman of an upcoming Union invasion of Mobile, "which if successful, must give the enemy control of all South Alabama." Blount has been authorized to gather slaves and mules from the nearby saltworks to finish constructing fortifications around the city. He feels confident that the owners will cooperate if they understand the urgency of the situation: "You will make known to the proprietor of the salt works and others having negroes at work of the over-ruling necessity for the labor of their hands & teams. It will be obvious to them that if the enemy succeed in capturing our city that not only will their present occupations be destroyed, and the possession of their slaves endang'd and that the only course left for them to pursue, consistent with duty and patriotism is to aid readily in all measures which the military authorities deem necessary for the protection and preservation of their property." In a postscript Blount tells Sherman not to send any slaves from the saltworks until the governor's views about the project are known. A transcription is included.
Text
600 Ppi Tiff
1864 July 11 1864 06 11
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