“General Palmer, we have in Kentucky the best developed class of Colored men. I shall be glad to cooperate with you in the work of their development.”

Partial autographed letter signed by John G Fee. [Camp Nelson, Kentucky], circa 1865. 6 pages, 8vo, on illustrated United States Christian Commission letterhead.  

A poignant and impassioned letter from leading Kentucky abolitionist John G. Fee (1816 - 1901) to General John McCauley Palmer (1817 - 1900), who oversaw the Freedmen’s Bureau in Kentucky until his discharge in 1866. Written near the close of the Civil War, the letter reflects on the urgent question of how to govern and sustain the newly emancipated population.

Fee sets forth his vision for the treatment of Freedmen in Kentucky, urging policies that would encourage independence and self-reliance: “Now allow me to suggest that this people be made self supporting for as possible. This will be a good to them as well as relief to the public crib. It will throw upon them responsibility, stimulate them to industry and cultivate self reliance. May I suggest that it is better to give to them land than bread. Some—the young, crippled and infirm need an asylum. But many of these soldiers, if an acre or even half acre of ground were given, would put up their own house, and support their own families; at least the families would support themselves. Benevolent societies might + would furnish them teachers, missionaries + some clothing.”

The letter, which begins on page 5, was likely written in late 1864 or early 1865, during Fee’s time at Camp Nelson. First established as a supply depot and hospital, Camp Nelson became a refuge for thousands of enslaved people fleeing bondage, as well as a major recruitment center for United States Colored Troops. Fee notes that the land for the camp was seized from secessionists: “Twelve hundred acres of the land in this camp did belong to notorious rebels—rebels who made up a rebel company—went out with Bragg. Another twelve hundred belong to copperheads, to say the least of them.”

Fee also reflects on his own background and experience with slavery, expressing his conviction that African Americans were as capable of moral and religious growth as any other people, provided they were given fair leadership: “I was raised on a farm, with slaves—know their habits. They are capable of development as other men—morally, religiously, they are very hopeful. The best way to govern them is to teach them to govern themselves.” He stresses that those charged with their care should be “men who are in religious sympathy with them,” rather than speculators exploiting their labor.

Fee’s letter to Palmer is remarkable not only for its eloquence but also for its vision of self-sufficiency, education, and humane governance for Kentucky’s freed population. 

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Pages 1-4 are missing from letter. This includes only pages 5-9.