Feb 27, 2007 - Sale 2105

Sale 2105 - Lot 13

Price Realized: $ 3,360
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 3,000 - $ 5,000
LETTERS FROM THE OFFICER PRESIDING OVER ST SIMON'S ISLAND Group of seven Autograph Letters Signed (two fragmentary) from U. S. Naval Captain John R. Goldsborough to his wife during the spring and summer of 1862. 90 pages, small 8vo sheets, each folded to form four pages; paper lightly and evenly toned; with two of the original envelopes with stamps and New York cancels, "OK" written across the front in crayon. Each of these letters is numbered in the same ink as the body of the letter, which would indicate that Goldsborough might have been considering their eventual use in a memoir or history of his service. should be seen. St. Simons Island, FL, 1862
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in an unusually detailed series of letters, the union officer placed in charge of one of the so-called "colonies" of newly freed blacks discusses his work. Goldsborough, a veteran of the blockade of Savannah, was appointed by Lincoln to preside over one of the colonies set up for contrabands. In the Spring of 1862 he took command of St. Simons Island. In a letter dated April 21, 1862, Goldsborough writes: "My idea and my wish is to make this a self-supporting colony as far as food is concern [sic]. . . these contrabands belong to several masters and they are coming in every day," and goes on to relate the difficulties of providing for so many. He describes uniting a husband and wife who had not seen each other in years. "I am determined to do all in my power to make them happy and contented. Their tales of cruelty are too awful to relate and their manner of escape in several instances is truly wonderful." In virtually all of the letters, Goldsborough describes the daily goings on among the several "plantations" he established. Goldsborough is firm about obedience, church attendance, temperance, and education in the schools he established. In the letter dated May 27, 1862, he relates a meeting with the famous runaway slave, Robert Small aboard the "Planter," the ship Small and eight others seized in Charleston in order to make their way to freedom. Though that letter is sadly incomplete, it is still rich with description.