Dickson, William G. (fl. 1861-1866) to E. Levassor
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05732.04 Author/Creator: Dickson, William G. (fl. 1861-1866) Place Written: Savannah, Georgia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 30 January 1866 Pagination: 4 p. ; 25 x 19.8 cm. Order a Copy
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.
General Davis Tillson served as Chief of Artillery of the Department of Ohio and head of defenses at Cincinnati, Ohio and Knoxville, Tennessee during the Civil War. After the War, he was appointed Assistant Commissioner for the United States Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. Eugene Levassor served in Napoleon Bonaparte's army in France. After moving to several other countries, he settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, and finally retired to an estate in Covington, Kentucky.
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