(CIVIL WAR PRISONS) Receipt issued to a Union soldier by th

Sale 2633 - Lot 75

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Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200

(CIVIL WAR--PRISONS.) Receipt issued to a Union soldier by the commander of Libby Prison. Document Signed by Thomas P. Turner as captain commanding Libby Prison, 3 1/4 x 7 3/4 inches; lacking an inch of upper right corner with partial loss of date, folds, moderate toning. Richmond, VA, 14 November [1862]

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This Union soldier was captured and sent to the Confederate's infamous Libby Prison in Richmond. He carried with him $30 in banknotes which weren't doing him much good. He entrusted them to the prison commandant, who even gave him a receipt. In full: "Receipt of Private Wm. Cramer the sum of thirty dollars in U.S. Treasury notes to be paid in sums of five dollars per month, the entire amount to be paid upon his leaving." Thomas Pratt Turner (1840-1900) was appointed as captain in command of the Confederate military prison at Richmond in July 1862 and promoted to major in late November. It is possible that Private Cramer may have been forbidden to mail out cash from the prison, but was perhaps able to sell this receipt to a banker at a discount, enabling him to send cash to home. On verso is a notation, "William E. Blondel to Wm. E. Taber," suggesting that the receipt changed hands.