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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC03523.32.18 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of Sumner Sayles, H company, 95th regiment, Illinois, infantry |
| Title | Sumner Sayles to Isora Sayles Skinkle describing Natchez, Mississippi |
| Date | 20 July 1863 |
| Author | Sayles, Sumner (fl. 1862-1868) |
| Recipient | Skinkle, Isora Sayles |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Writes to his sister. Describes the beauty of Natchez, Mississippi. Notes that it is situated on a high bluff and that it is the main part of the town. Comments, "I thought that lake Providence louisanna [sic] was the gratest place for white Niggars in the whole world but i was mistaken for this place beats it all to piecies their is some of them that you can not tell from whites [sic]." Mentions that they have all kinds of vegetables like green corn, watermelons, muskmelons, potatoes, cucumbers, and peaches. Writes that they have been there for a week and have "lived on the fat of the land since we came." States that the locals charge too much for food, melons cost 50 cents each and five ears of corn cost ten cents. Notes that they offer them what they believe is a fair price for the food and if the locals do not accept the offer then they just take what they want and they tell the owners where they can go to get paid. |
| Subjects | Civil War Military History Union Forces Soldier's Letter Union Soldier's Letter Geography and Natural History African American History Slavery Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Diet and Nutrition Military Provisions Wartime Pillaging and Destruction Finance |
| People | Sayles, Sumner (fl. 1862-1868) Sayles, Isora (fl. 1860-1868) |
| Place written | Natchez, Mississippi |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Arts & Literature; Merchants & Commerce |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | Sumner Sayles enlisted as a private on 9 August 1862. He mustered into "H" Co. IL 95th Infantry. He mustered out on 17 August 1865. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Civil War: Unit | 95th Regiment, Illinois, infantry |