Letter from James Foster, a 68-year-old prisoner in Wetumpka, Alabama, to Governor W. J. Samford. In the letter Foster asks the governor to grant him parole. He acknowledges his guilt but argues that his good behavior makes him a worthy candidate...
In this message to the United States House of Representatives, President Ulysses S. Grant presents a statement he received from a group of African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, who had assembled to discuss the "grave and menacing dangers that...
Flier addressed to freedmen in Dallas County, Alabama, warning them of "recent converts to Republicanism" who will compete for their vote in the upcoming county elections. All the questionable candidates are mentioned, with evidence of their...
Flier from the Alabama Equal Suffrage Association, relating women's suffrage to the fight for independence during the American Revolution: "The Declaration of Independence was the direct result of taxation without representation. Either exempt...
In the letter to Semmes protests his arrest on December 15 and asks Grant to present the matter before the president. He claims the arrest is a violation of the parole he was granted after his surrender ("solemn military capitulation") at the end...
Tichenor describes the postwar situation for the freed slaves from a paternalistic viewpoint: "Four millions of human beings, under the influence of a misguided philanthropy, have been rendered destitute of homes, protection, and comfort, and have...
In the letter McRae discusses the news he has received in Europe about recent Confederate losses in the war: "...we have had a succession of bad accounts causing many of our friends here to despair of ultimate success. I am not among that number...
From May 1861 to early 1862, Bolling Hall, Jr., served in the 6th Alabama Infantry. In the letter he explains that "Since the furloughs have been knocked in the head there have been all sorts of plans in contemplation to secure the volunteers for a...
This letter was written not long after the formation of the Confederate States of America. In it Bolling discusses possible interruptions in mail delivery ("I have been looking everyday [sic] to see it announced that the Government has discontinued...
In the letter Mrs. Vaughan explains that her husband, Vernon Henry Vaughan, has been arrested for being a "defiant Republican." The Ku Klux Klan has threatened their entire family, and they are no longer safe in the city: "They put him in jail...
During the Civil War, Semple served as a captain of an artillery battery organized in Montgomery (known as Semple's Battery). He was later appointed a major and transferred to Mobile. In the letter Finley asks Semple to grant a furlough to a man...
During the Civil War, Semple served as a captain of an artillery battery organized in Montgomery (known as Semple's Battery). He was later appointed a major and transferred to Mobile. In the letter Pinkston asks Semple to grant his two sons a...
In the letter Snell asks why the state legislature will not allow the people to vote on the proposed suffrage amendment to the United States Constitution: "The Legislature is not asked to grant suffrage to women, but is merely requested to permit...
In the letter Semple asks Pollard to grant passage to two men who plan to transport the bodies of fallen soldiers from the battlefield near Georgia to Alabama. According to several notes on the back, the men were given clearance, but they decided...
During the Civil War, Semple served as a captain of an artillery battery organized in Montgomery (known as Semple's Battery). He was later appointed a major and transferred to Mobile. In the letter he discusses his health after a recent fall and...
In the letter Foster asks the governor to grant him parole: "If you and the Board will parole me Governor I swear by all the true Gods that ever existed that I will ever reverence the Alabama Board of Pardons, and hold perpetually as my Trinity,...
From November 1863 through the end of the Civil War, John Hall served in Co. B, 59th Alabama Infantry regiment. In the letter he discusses recent campaigns and losses ("Fort Morgan we learned yesterday, has been surrendered. Next may be Mobile");...
During the Mexican-American War, Moore organized and led the Eutaw Rangers, a group of volunteers from Greene County, Alabama. In the letter he discusses the upcoming transportation of troops to Burita or Matamoras, Mexico, and he describes the...
In the letter Bankhead discusses the "infamous interview" Tallulah gave to Gladys Hall of Motion Picture magazine, and assures her that it "will not permanently impair your standing with the public." He remarks that the incident "has shown to you...
In the letter King discusses his business and the settlement of his father's estate, and he gives his views on the activities of the "fire eaters": "I addressed the people at Cahawba last week, and I think I succeeded in opening the eyes of many...