(CIVIL WAR) Joseph Brown Abbott Letters from a New Hampshire

Sale 2687 - Lot 76

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Estimate: $ 600 - $ 900

(CIVIL WAR.) Joseph Brown Abbott. Letters from a New Hampshire man visiting North Carolina and then joining the Sanitary Commission. 5 Autograph Letters Signed from Abbott and his wife to friend Andrew B. Mason of the United States Navy; minimal wear, most with original stamped and postmarked envelopes. With full typed transcripts. Various places, 1859-1864

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The first letter was written a couple of years before the war, while teaching at a school in New Bern, NC: "Sloth and indolence are seen on every hand. The people rely upon the Negros to do, and the result is, upon the former, obvious: business is not attended to, and everything has a delapidated appearance. . . . In general, the men old and young drink more or less, chew & smoke tobacco, drink strong coffee, and gratify their passions with the black & yellow girls. It is horrible to behold the effects of amalgamation in this country."

The other 4 letters were written while Abbott served as an official in the United States Sanitary Commission. In his 13 March 1864 letter he noted: "I returned yesterday from a trip to . . . Portsmouth [VA]" and "established a Soldier's Home or Lodge. For the purpose, I secured a confiscated house which is . . . a nice place for a weary soldier to rest. I expect to visit several of the northern states soon for . . . establishing a general system for the support of our disabled soldiers from every state that otherwise would become inmates of state alms & poor houses."