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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC03836.76 |
| From Archive Folder | Correspondence of 90 letters and documents with 3 maps on the blockade of Port Royal, South Carolina |
| Title | Lewis H West to Harriet Moore stating 'The men who vote in favor of slavery after the experience of the last few years, are only fit to be slaves themselves' [incomplete] |
| Date | 22 October 1864 |
| Author | West, Lewis H. (b. 1829) |
| Recipient | Moore, Harriet |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | References receiving her letter of 22 September. Talks about the latest accounts of the elections. Says he is sorry to hear Pennsylvania has probably gone copperhead and that "If she goes for McClellan all I have to say is that I hope the rebels may desolate the state from end to end." Claims that "The men who vote in favor of slavery after the experience of the last few years, are only fit to be slaves themselves, and the sooner they become so, the better." Says New York is the only state to make provisions for sailors to vote and that they received their blank ballots recently. Says 7 on the ship are for McClellan and 7 for Lincoln. Says that McClellan will probably have a majority of the New York men from the squadron. Says if the entire navy could vote, Lincoln would be ahead. Says the volunteers are for Lincoln and the regulars for McClellan. Says there are those of "disreputable character" who have lied about being from New York in order to vote for McClellan. Says he had a confrontation with someone in his crew who was speaking positively of the copperheads and that he threatened to put him in Fort Lafayette. Says "I will allow as much free speech as anybody, on board here as long as everybody agrees with me in politics." Says the countryside has been drained of men by the Confederates. Spoke to a recent refugee who told of a story of smuggling slaves in from Africa a few years before the war and how he was swindled by his creditor, a Mr. Lamar. |
| Subjects | Civil War Military History Navy Union Forces Union Soldier's Letter Soldier's Letter Women's History President Government and Civics Election Politics Copperheads Democratic Party Union General Slavery African American History Abolition Suffrage Forgery and Fraud Civil Rights Confederate States of America Corruption and Scandal Slave Sale Slave Trade Africa Smuggling |
| People | West, Lewis H. (b. 1829) Moore, Harriet (fl. 1864) |
| Place written | Aboard USS "Fernandina" at St. Catherine's, Georgia |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Naval & Maritime; African Americans; Slavery & Abolition |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | West was a Union naval officer in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, mostly serving off South Carolina and Georgia. This collection begins with three documents from West's service on a merchant marine ship off China. He served on the USS "Perry" April-August 1861, the USS "Wabash" August-October 1861, the USS "Alabama" October 1861-October 1862, the USS "Ladona" (also spelled Lodona) October 1862-August 1863, the USS "New Ironsides" October 1863-April 1864, and the USS "Fernandina" April 1864-March 1865. Had the rank of Masters Mate from April-August 1861 and then served the rest of the war as an Acting Master. Letters detail the tedium of life in the blockade, coming across runaway slaves and contrabands, as well as several run-ins with Confederate submarines. Three hand drawn maps are at .27, .68, and .89. Most of the letters are to his mother (her initials are RW and she resides at 1316 Walnut Street in Philadelphia - West addresses his letters to her as "Mrs. James West"), sister (Mary), and someone who appears to be West's brother-in-law (Weir). He begins to write a woman he seems to be romantically interested in named Harriet Moore in 1864. From a reference at .63, West was born in 1829. He might have been living in New York before the war, but he definitely resides there after the war. About half the letters have an envelope. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Civil War: Theater of War | Lower Seaboard Theater and Gulf Approach |
| Civil War: Unit | USS "Fernandina" |