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Mason, Emily Virginia, 1815-1909 to Henry Jackson Hunt

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02382.088 Author/Creator: Mason, Emily Virginia, 1815-1909 Place Written: Baltimore, Maryland Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 24 April [1871] Pagination: 6 p. : envelope Height: 17.8 cm, Width: 22.5 cm Order a Copy

Year inferred from content. Mason has received Hunt's account of Robert E. Lee's passage through the pedegral (a lava field), during the Mexican American War. Intends to obtain more information on Lee from McClellan, whom Lee served with in Mexico, and Professor French at West Point. Notes that she was Lee's friend and neighbor in Arlington, Virginia. Hesitates to ask Mary Randolph Custis Lee, R. E. Lee's widow, about his early military career, since these reflections must be painful for her. General Samuel Cooper, could help her, though he and his wife suffer extreme poverty. Has considered asking Cooper's Northern friends for monetary help, but knows this would offend his pride, since he served the South during the Civil War.

Hunt, Henry Jackson, 1819-1889
Mason, Emily Virginia, 1815-1909
Lee, Robert E., 1807-1870
Lee, Mary Custis, 1808-1873
Cooper, Samuel, 1798-1876
McClellan, George B., 1826-1885

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