[A pair of manuscript letters from Savannah, Georgia].

Savannah, Georgia: December 28, 1840, and February 27, 1841. 4to, 4 pp.; 4to, 4 pp.

Two letters written from Savannah, Georgia by Charles B. Hunt of Gorham, Maine, a state representative, senator, and merchant, providing an interesting account of the city in the 1840s, including a detailed description of a slave auction and considerable political commentary.

Hunt, a native of Gorham Maine and a hatter by trade, writes to Josiah Pierce, a fellow Gorham resident, lawyer, President of the Maine Senate, and author of A History of the Town of Gorham, Maine (1862). His first letter is written three weeks after his arrival in Savannah: “I take this opportunity of writing and sending this brief communication from this land of ‘Hams’ & ‘Hominy’ ‘Cotton bags’ & ‘Negroes.’” His letters are equal parts evocative, analytic, and programmatic—the latter of which concerns his sundry business ventures surrounding his travels. Most remarkable, however, is his vivid account of the public sale of slaves in Savannah, which is central to his second letter.

The two letters offer vivid impressions of Savannah—both the city and the surrounding countryside—and recurrently compare the area with his Northern homeland, the latter of which he fondly calls “the land of everlasting snow.” “The City has an Old and sombre aspect. There are some fine blocks of buildings made from northern brick – but in general the buildings are much inferior to those in Cities of the same size of the North.” The climate of Savannah is described as “pleasant & agreeable,” and Hunt describes how his “health has considerably improved since my residence here.” He identifies his condition as “chronic Catarrh,” which he believes will be cured by the “mild dry and warm atmosphere.”

Soon after his arrival in Savannah, Hunt sights Judge Berrion, the first U. S. Attorney General under Andrew Jackson, recently elected as a U.S. Senator from Georgia. This sighting takes place in a public meeting “in the Theatre and it was Theatrical or Comical throughout.” Berrion belongs to the States Rights Party and is in favor of a National Bank. Hunt’s sighting of Berrion occasions a brief discussion of the contested matter of a National Bank.

In both letters, Hunt is candid in his political opinions and also exhibits a fairly nuanced understanding of the conflicting political dynamics of the time, many of which concern the tensions between the Federal Government and the State's legislature, as well as the tensions between Southern and Northern States. The “Nonintercourse law” regarding trade (“supremely ridiculous if not unconstitutional”), which concerns both Maine and Georgia, is another contested piece of legislature that Hunt tackles, launching him into one of the more prescient moments of his first letter:

I am more convinced now than ever I was before – that the Slave-holding-states contain within themselves the elements of weakness and decay as well as wealth. So long as they can keep with their peculiar political organization so far as slavery is concerned - but of weakness because that organization can be so easily disturbed – for there can be no doubt that the mass of the slave population could be easily turned against their masters – by an hostile power – promising them freedom as the reward for their rebellion – and the south in my opinion is fully aware of this fact.

Yet Hunt is quick to point out Northern states’ complicity with the “peculiar institutions” of the South: “a large majority of the north are willing they should remain in possession of their peculiar institutions without molestation from them.” Hunt concludes his reflections by cautioning the South to be careful about passing laws that may potentially conflict with the rights and economic interests of the nominally anti-slavery states.

Hunt’s second letter to Pierce is written two months later: “I still remain in the City of Oglethorp for such is the designation by way of eminence the Georgians give Savannah.” In the months since his last letter, Hunt has visited the Supreme and County Courts; the large public library in Savannah (replete with “4000 volumes and a reading room attached”); and The Exchange, a large building in the center of the city that offers a “fine view of the City & the surrounding country,” from which he can see the plantation of Gen. Governor Hamilton who owns 300 slaves. In both of his letters, Hunt remarks upon the “Theatrical” temperament of the southerners—especially that of the lawyers—described as oscillating between an “unnatural” “Theatrical vehemence” and an extravagant “steam-engine eloquence.”

In a particularly vivid section of his second letter, constituting roughly a quarter of this missive, Hunt reconstructs a “large public sale of Negroes.” He witnesses this auction on the steps of the Court House where a “temporary staging” has been built a few feet from the ground. Onlookers and participants in the sale include “persons, black, white and grey and specked[?].” Hunt’s initially detached account of the auction swiftly shifts, as he begins to ventriloquize the auctioneer who is conducting the sale:

About 60 negroes were brought forward, placed upon the platform one, two & three at a time as the case might be & knocked off to the highest bidder somewhat in the following style — Come Jack – says the Auctioneer – get up on the stage – take off your hat Jack – turn round and show yourself – how old are you Jack – I don’t know Massa – Well here is Jack about 30 years old what is bid for Jack – 300, 325, 350, 400, 450, 500, 600 no more all done – gone to Mr. etc get down Jack – next came Unice with 2 Children – take off your bonnet turn around let gentlemen see you.

Hunt continues with the sale of Eunice, concluding: “Thus, you have an outline of the picture your imagination can supply the rest.” He then provides a list of various slaves sold and the prices realized. Hunt concludes his account observing that “they [the slaves who were sold] mostly belonged to one plantation – the owner of which dying insolvent – his property had to be sold – the slavery system in its every aspect looks ominous of evil to our country.” As this public sale of slaves is occurring, he notes, other auctioneers are selling horses, carriages, furniture, etc. to the same crowd of people.

In passing, Hunt remarks on how “The times look squally and war may arise” and notes the economic complications an outbreak of war would engender. Hunt mentions again his precarious health, yet this time with less optimism. “My health has gradually improved though not perfected.” He concedes that his catarrhal inflammation will likely not be able to be fully cured; but, he insists, “I have essentially improved”: “tell my wife that I am free from some symptoms (pains in the chest) […] I have gained some 10 lbs. in weight corporeally since last summer.” In a startling conclusion to his letter, Hunt relates how “the people here make great havoc of the robins, men and boys shooting them for food […] Two little boys 11 years old in gunning today, one accidentally shot the other dead.”

An engaging pair of letters reporting on the Savannah scene.

CONDITION: First letter good, very minor splitting at folds, one 2” tear at right margin of p. 3 with slight loss of text. Second letter very good, one small tear at right margin of p. 3 with minor loss of text.