Soule, Pierre, 1801-1870 to Edwin DeLeon
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04570 Author/Creator: Soule, Pierre, 1801-1870 Place Written: Richmond, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 12 August 1863 Pagination: 2 p. : envelope ; 27.2 x 21.5 cm. Order a Copy
Marked confidential at the top. Soule writes to DeLeon, Confederate Envoy to France 1862-1864. Relates, "I came to the confederacy by the way of Nassau & Charleston. Before leaving Nassau, we had the news of a great battle fought at Gettysburg, of a glorious victory won, and of fourty thousand prisoners taken from the enemy. Upon our landing at Charleston, we learned that the affair at Gettysburg had been a last reserve to our arms, and that Vicksburg & Port-hudson had fallen. The effect which these disasters had produced upon the country were visible in the dejected countenances and gloomy looks of the people." Heavily criticizes the Confederate cabinet. Remarks, "with the exception of the President, I found them all plunged in the most deplorable supineness and indifference" (referring to President Jefferson Davis). Comments on the low value of Confederate currency. Denounces the Confederate Secretary of the Treasury (Christopher Memminger), Secretary of the Navy (Stephen Mallory), Secretary of State (Judah P. Benjamin), and Secretary of War (James Seddon). Highly praises the army. Accompanied by a printed biographical sketch of Soule, apparently removed from a larger volume.
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