Mississipi

1848 · 21524 — 1848. J.E. Eggleston correspondence dated 24 November 1848 documents the commercial shipment and sale of enslaved boys from Virginia to Mississippi within the interstate slave trade that expanded across the American South during the nineteenth century. The letter records logistical arrangements for transporting enslaved individuals through New Orleans before forwarding them by steamboat into the Mississippi interior. Written during a period when enslaved people were regularly moved from the Upper South to expanding plantation regions in the Deep South the document illustrates the economic and geographic structure of the domestic slave trade and reveals how enslaved children were treated as movable property within commercial networks linking Virginia Louisiana and Mississippi. The letter also directly references the relationship between the cotton market and the price of enslaved labor demonstrating how fluctuations in the agricultural economy shaped the buying and selling of enslaved people.<br /> <br /> Eggleston J.E. Autograph Letter Signed to "Messrs. Buckannon Carrol & Co." New Orleans. Richmond Virginia: 24 November 1848. One and one quarter pages written on a bifolium with address panel and postal markings. Eggleston informs the New Orleans firm that "a friend of mine will ship in a few days four Negro Boys to New Orleans to the care of your house" instructing them to receive the boys upon arrival and arrange onward shipment by steamboat to Mississippi. He directs the firm to "take charge of them & ship them on the first safe Boat to Chula Holms County Mississippi to the care of Stansbuary & Williams" with alternate instructions if river traffic permits delivery through another route. The letter treats the boys as financial cargo noting that the shipping record should state "the amount to be paid for the passage of the Negroes" and instructing the firm to cover any temporary expenses and charge them to the Eggleston account. Eggleston further notes that he will insure the enslaved individuals during the journey indicating the practice of protecting enslaved property through commercial insurance policies during transport.<br /> <br /> The letter also connects the purchase of enslaved labor directly to the speculative cotton economy of the nineteenth century South. Eggleston explains that falling cotton prices influenced his purchasing decisions writing that "owing to the low price of cotton I determined to purchase no more negroes at present. They are selling too high for the prospect of the price of cotton." Such remarks demonstrate the close relationship between commodity markets and the valuation of enslaved people within the plantation economy. Correspondence documenting the logistics of the interstate slave trade provides direct evidence of how enslaved individuals were transported through commercial networks linking coastal ports and inland plantations. Bifolium measuring approximately 6.5 x 8.75 inches with address panel postmark and "Paid 10" postal marking. Light creasing and toning with minor ink bleed through; folded for mailing. Overall very good condition. The letter preserves firsthand documentation of the commercial mechanisms that sustained the nineteenth century domestic slave trade. unknown