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Dickson, William G. (fl. 1861-1866) to E. Levassor

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05732.06 Author/Creator: Dickson, William G. (fl. 1861-1866) Place Written: Savannah, Georgia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 7 October 1866 Pagination: 4 p. ; 24.1 x 19.6 cm. Order a Copy

Dickson, a Marshal who served as a Union Major during the Civil War apologizes to his grandfather (possibly Eugene Levassor) for tardy correspondence and for being unable to visit in autumn. States that since one of his partners in a turpentine and rosin manufacturing firm mismanaged affairs, he assumed responsibility for 2/3 of the 10,000 acre pine tree forest and plans to travel to the manufacturing site to supervise business. Informs Levassor of rampant illness in Savannah, stating "The cholera has been quite bad here among the blacks and a few cases among the whites." States that General Davis Tillson acquired a cotton plantation in Georgia near the coast, and that Tillson will be mustered out of service in December. Describes being lost in the Georgia wilderness with a guide who was unfamiliar with the road.

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.

Dickson, William G., fl. 1861-1866
Levassor, E., fl. 1861-1865
Tillson, Davis, fl. 1865

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