CIVIL WAR PETITIONS TO GEORGIA’S GOVERNOR — ATLANTA MAYOR JAMES M. CALHOUN SEEKS OFFICE FOR A SUPPORTER

A revealing glimpse into the machinery of Confederate civil administration at the state level, showing how offices and appointments were pursued through personal recommendation, political connection, and local reputation. Addressed to Joseph E. Brown, one of the most powerful and controversial governors of the Confederacy, they illuminate the everyday workings of patronage in wartime Georgia, from the practical demands of provisioning the public through the office of Meat Inspector to the jockeying for judicial preferment within an important circuit judgeship. The inclusion of Atlanta mayor James M. Calhoun is especially notable, tying one letter to a central civic figure in a city that would soon assume enormous strategic importance.

A group of two petitions addressed to Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown (1821–1894) during the Civil War, comprising:

1. Letter signed by Atlanta mayor James M. Calhoun (1811–1875) to Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown. Atlanta, Georgia, 29 March 1862. 1 page, 4to, on blue paper. Docketed on the verso, with an additional affidavit attesting to Mr. Trout.

The mayor of Atlanta, writing on behalf of a group of supporters, implores Governor Brown to appoint John F. Trout to the office of Meat Inspector: “Learning that there is a vacancy in the office of meat inspector, we, whose names are attached below, would earnestly recommend the appointment of Mr. John F. Trout. He has been engaged in the butchering business for several years in our city, and we know of no one whom we could more highly recommend for that appointment. We would further state that Mr. Trout packed (upon the English plan) a large lot of beef for one of our contractors, which was pronounced to be by far the best lot of beef that was received in Savannah. You will find the name of the above mentioned contractor attached to this paper.”

2. Autograph letter signed by J. L. Kimberly [?] to Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown. Lumpkin, [Georgia], 2 December 1862. 1 page, trimmed 4to, 8 x 8 3/8 in. With integral address panel on the verso, bearing a Lumpkin postmark.

The writer states that a friend has informed him that, when his name was mentioned to Governor Brown in connection with the judgeship of the Pataula Circuit, the governor was uncertain whether he would accept the appointment, as no personal application had been made. He therefore writes to clarify his position: “A friend has just informed me that when my name was mentioned to you in connection with the judgeship of the Patoula Circuit, you were not sure that I would accept the appointment, as no personal application had been made by me +c. I write now to say, that, I would not only accept said appointment with pleasure, but it would ever place me under the greatest obligation to you.”

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs]