Dickson, a marshal who served as a Union Major during the Civil War informs his grandfather (possibly Eugene Levassor) of his investment in turpentine and rosin production. Reports that his employer purchased 8400 acres of land south west of Savannah for turpentine manufacture, and that a member of the firm "manages the negroes better than anyone I have seen ... labor will not cost us as much as the interest on the money which would have been invested in them ... they work faithfully are happy and dance almost every night." Declares that "Northern men are coming down here and investing quite freely." Reports that General Davis Tillson advised an acquaintance to begin business in Augusta, Georgia. Requests that Levassor send Dickson's saddle and bridle, sewed into a coffee sack, for use on the firm's horse. Includes a post script discussing his grandmother's thoughts on his possible marriage to a widow with several children.