Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 09.djvu/98

Rh during the last gallant efforts of the Army of Northern Virginia. Upon reaching the inside of the Confederate works in the vicinity of the point where the Weldon railroad crossed the trenches I saw a bunch of papers, the one corner of which lay in a pool of blood. Near by was also the shattered carriage of a gun, indicating that one of our shells had dismounted it. Everywhere were the signs of a desperate struggle, though the dead and wounded had been removed. I picked up the package of papers, supposing that some poor fellow had dropped them as he fell, and they might lead to a clue. There was nothing of interest except one, a copy of which I give you. I preserved it, but there was no historical society in the South in 1873 with which I was acquainted to which to send it, and therefore that year I placed it to be among the archives of the Iowa Historical Society for safe keeping, and publication was made of it among the transactions for that year. When I last saw it it had a large blood stain and a number of earth stains from the yellow clay in which I found it. It was written on coarse foolscap paper, in a delicate hand, and evidently had been prepared for transmission through the regular military channels to the War Department at Richmond. The following is the document:

, March 31, 1865.

General,—We have the honor to request of you authority to raise ten companies of colored troops in the vicinity of Montgomery, Ala. We feel confident that this can be done, with the help of influential friends; both of us having many in and around the city.

We are, General, very respectfully, Your obedient servants, , First Lieut. and Adjt. Sixty-first Ala. Regt. Inf.

, First Lieut. Co. "A" Sixty-first Ala. Regt. Inf. To General S. Cooper, A. and I.G.

I have always had a personal interest in the fate of these gallant soldiers, and I give you the copy for what it is worth. There is no doubt of the genuinessgenuineness [sic] of the paper, as I picked it up and did not receive it from any second hand. Yours fraternally,