Autograph letter signed by Private Henry Glaze Cate (1836-1907), Co. C, 36th Tennessee Infantry, to his father, William Wiley Cate (1814-1892). Montgomery, Alabama, 18 July 1863. 4 pages, 8vo.

Prior to the Civil War, Cate lived with his parents in Bradley County, Tennessee, with his younger siblings Mary and Gus. Their father, William, voted against the ratification of the ordinance of secession and was a Union sympathizer throughout the war, known to provide food and aid to Union troops passing through Bradley County. Interestingly, Henry Cate enlisted for the Confederacy, while his younger brother Gustavus ("Gus") served in the Union army. 

This letter, written by Henry Cate in Montgomery, captures the palpable desperation of the South, felt by both Confederate soldiers and citizens alike. At this point in the war, the Rebel Army had just seen two devastating losses, at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Morale had plummeted, and confidence on the home front, too, was at an all-time low: wild inflation and extreme shortages caused many to question whether or not the cause warranted the widespread suffering.

Immediately, Cate beings by dissecting the "terrible crisis" borne of "the tocsin [sic] of war," addressing conscription, the financial crisis, and the looting and destruction of personal property. He writes that the South is "now passing as it were through an ordeal of fire" and that people will resort to whatever means necessary to protect themselves and their families.

After the passage of the Second Conscription Act in September of 1862, any white male between the ages of 18 and 45 was eligible for military service. Before the war's end, this would be extended for men up to the age of 50 and for an unlimited duration of service, which Cate accurately predicts: "efforts are being made to organize all the old men...into companies and battalions for local and state defense." Further, he writes that the Richmond Enquirer, a reputable source operating as an "organ of the administration," advocated for "the entire [CSA] force - young and old - be put into camps and the country ruled with despotic power." Cate fears that this power, once fully activated, will never be harnessed again.

He also fears the repercussions of hyperinflation and the depreciation in currency value, writing that "Confederate money...is selling here at ten to one." He advises his father to "make the best investment [he] can...No kind of property is worth anything now except land or hard money."

Property, too, proved to be somewhat of a liability, as it made the Confederate citizenry subject to "indescribable...misery" as a result of looting. As Cate writes: "Every negro that will go and the last pound of meat, are taken. All...the wearing apparel, and every article of furniture are either taken or destroyed. All the gold that can be procured...is taken by a wanton soldiery. All the works of art...are destroyed. Those who were wealthy yesterday & those in moderate circumstances are today alike poor...drawing rations for the Federal commissary."

In closing, he shares his hope that this "ruthless & inhuman pillage & devastation" stay confined to the Mississippi Valley and never reach his home state of Tennessee. 

Both Cate brothers survived the war and returned to Tennessee, where Henry married and worked as a merchant. Gus Cate also married and became a prominent local politician, serving in the state legislature and as both mayor and postmaster of Cleveland, Tennessee.

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