Letter from Sarah Fletcher to Malcolm Nicholson Fletcher, 1865

Civil war

Letter from Sarah Fletcher to her son Malcolm Nicholson Fletcher written during the last days of the Civil War that discusses the surrender of Robert E. Lee's army and the impact of the Confederacy's impending collapse on the Florida's civilian population. Sarah Fletcher also comments on the activities of Florida's slaves on the eve of their emancipation. The original letter is badly faded and parts are completely illegible. A typed transcript is reproduced here because of its historical importance. The original letter was written at the very end of the Civil War, after the surrender of both Robert E. Lee's and Joseph E. Johnston's Confederate armies. While Florida was included under Johnston's April 26 surrender, it was not until the following month that Union troops formally accepted the capitulation of Confederates in Florida.

Fletcher, Sarah Ann Monroe, 1814-1876

State Archives of Florida, Collection M90-15

1865-04-29

letters (correspondence)

eng-US

Text

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Civil War Florida (1861-1865)

Oak Grove (Fla.)

Gadsden County (Fla.)

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Military And Veterans

Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1807-1870

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Fletcher, Malcolm Nicholson, 1838-1872

Florida Oak Grove April 29th 1865 My Dear Son according to promise I will write though I have nothing agreable to to tell you the news you sent me revived my drooping spirits considerable but I hear that it ___________________________________ our duty [?] _____ which is awful to me and you and everybody else South our doom is sealed General Lee is a prisoner and nearly all his army we are lost without the report is true that ol Lincoln is dead if that is so we may have some chance yet I did hope you ___ Dark [?] about [?] ___ ___ ___ ___ before this but my hopes are [in?] vain [?] when will this ___________________________________________ may [?] be [?] room [?] for our negroes will break ____ in [?] spite of all that I can do they have broke into the sugar house and tooke one of my calf skins and nearly a barrel of syrup and a considerable amount of sugar and they got in the smokehouse and tooke out as much meat as they wanted I think about two hundred pounds of meat [p.2] I told Mr. Spooner they were stealing but he said that he could not help it and I ____

that I would get Albert to look round for me That night they broke the lock to the sugar house to get a barrel of syrup out and Mr Spooner was gone to the Lake a fishing when he came home I told him of it and showed him the Locke he contended that it was not broke only worn out I told him that I did not like to be treated in that way and that he must go and see if there was anything gone as he was the last one of the whites that had been in, we went and he saw what was done he could not doubt his own eyes he and Albert took up the negroes last night and whipped them some and they told all about it that they had been going in whenever they wished and they had been selling the meat and other things to the wag- goners [?] and others Mr. Spooner is much to blame for he does not attend the business as he ought and the negroes say he is on there side there is one thing certain he does not care so his own work is done what becomes of us it [p.3] vexes [?] him for me or one of the children to tell him anything they do when I told him they had broke open the smokehouse he gave a grunt and left and did not even go and look at it I have

been as kind to him as if he had been my brother I think the negroes have been telling some tales if they have he ought to see that it was all to [?] ____ ____ and get the advantage of me when they were whipping Albert and Jim and Frank they told Albert and took Jim off to talk to him [?] some of the rest cut him loose and he ran away after he got through with them he called Stephen and he ran away two they will either go to you or try to get to the yankees the latter I think for they have been preparing to go some time I want you to keep a sharp look out for them and shoot them if they attempt to get away I do not want Albert to come back at any mater [?] I hope the yankees will shoot him I do not want you to tell Spooner all that I have told you for we will not make our bread if some person does not attend to it for I am not able to attend to it this ___ ____ [p.4] that I have keept could in for which I am very thankful I wish you or Jack [?] could come home and see a little [?] ___ farming into [?] for i am getting very uneasy about it do come if you can I suppose if we are subjugated the negroes will be free and we will lose our land and

everything else I tried to keep Mr Spooner from whipping them but I could not I thinks it would be best to turn them over to the law of the land if there is any law to that effects Miss Keene [?] has just left me she has been here ever since wednesday morning we have had a very pleasant time with the exception of the negroes scrape [?] I think Julia [?] and I ___ ____ ____ bottom of that stealing scrape though nothing has been said about it I wish [?] you would try and get me a lock for the house I think that we will have a change some way soon for we cannot raise a southern army and we will have to submit Malcolm [?] do not tell that you killed a yankee for they might want to kill you for it goodbye my dear boys I pray the gods [?] Love to bless and keep you from all evil and bring you home in safety your affectionate mother [Sarah] Fletcher M.N. Fletcher

Zabud Fletcher was a native of Georgia who moved to Florida in 1825. He eventually settled at China Hill in Gadsden County. Fletcher married Sarah Ann Monroe in 1825, and the couple had five children. Many of the letters in the Zabud Fletcher Family Papers date from the Civil War period. Two of Fletcher's sons served in the Confederate army during the war. Zabud Fletcher died in 1864, while Sarah Fletcher survived until 1876.