POSTWAR STRUGGLES OF A CONFEDERATE OFFICER
A collection of eight American Civil War era letters written to Brigadier General Benjamin Jefferson Hill of Tennessee, concerning his own postwar struggles and efforts of his family and friends to reclaim their former lives in the aftermath of the war.
The most compelling is a four-page handwritten letter from his brother-in-law, Dr. John Smartt (1821–99), a Tennessee native then living in Alabama, who references his arrest, trial, and banishment from his home following the war. “Since the (cessation) of hostilities my political enemies have been pressing me harder and closer until they finally succeeded in getting military authorities to arrest me on charges that were very grave and serious for any man to combat, so after much anxiety, trouble and wearying, they banished me from my state and of course home,” Smartt wrote on September 15, 1865. “I have not seen my family since the trial which was nearly three weeks ago.”
Smartt does not explain the nature of his arrest or trial in the letter, and additional information about the matter was not immediately available. He wrote that the “military authorities” took his crop, mules, and wagons, despite writing to officials that he had satisfied their demands, and therefore “as a citizen of the United States of America (don’t this sound big), claim protection for my family and property which I am in the hopes they will grant.” Smartt outlined his plan to reconnect with his family and move to Texas “where I hope to be out of the reach of my tormentors.”
According to a family genealogical history, Smartt was a physician and farmer in Oxford, Alabama, until the end of the Civil War. He moved to Dallas in the fall of 1865, following the lead of numerous Confederates who made their way to Texas, which came through the rebellion relatively unscathed. In 1871, Smartt moved to Bentonville, Arkansas, where he became president of the People's Bank at Bentonville and president of the Bentonville Railroad.
This letter is signed “your brother” and addressed to Brigadier General Benjamin Jefferson Hill (1825–80), who was married to Smartt’s sister, Mary Virginia “Vesta” Smartt. Hill organized the 5th Tennessee Infantry, later renumbered the 35th. Before the war, he served in the Tennessee Senate and was the proprietor of McMinnville's Warren House Hotel. After the war, he was a merchant, lawyer, and president of the McMinnville and Manchester Railroad.
This collection also includes:
December 13, 1855: four pages on blue paper, containing the last will and testament of Polly Boulden, Hill’s sister, concerning disposition of her property and land in McMinnville and Texas, including the proceeds from the sale of an enslaved person.
March 9, 1965: one page letter from J.S. Rich of Georgia seeking a position for his cousin.
Three letters dated September 11, October 4, and November 15, 1865, respectively, from his friend, George M. Anthony of Nashville. The first letter is addressed to Mrs. Hill and provides advice concerning the return of her piano, which was apparently taken during the war. He also wrote that he was unable to determine whether their McMinnville property was under the control of the military, freedman’s bureau, or wrapped up in litigation. In his next letter to the General, he wrote: “I am glad to learn that you have got possession of your house and other property, and I trust that you may have no more trouble about your affairs.” He also mentioned paying off “Eastern debts” by January 1866. The later, three-page letter includes the original mailing envelope with the stamp removed. Anthony wrote about the return of Hill’s watch, appointments to the railroad, and a letter of recommendation for a friend.
December 15, 1865: one-page letter from A.M. Watkins, business associate. “I am again among the hated Yankees,” he wrote. “If I could get any good business in the South, I never would remain here.”
November 26, 1866: one-page letter from Edward Passous concerning business, and a desire to travel of Brazil because “it is the garden of the world and there are a great many Southern Reb’s going there.”
The letters are in very good condition and provide a unique perspective of Confederate life at the end of the American Civil War and during Reconstruction. Item #80672
Price: $1,250.00