letters

Administration of Thomas P. Jackson (December 1867-January 1868)

Jackson reports on the poor attitudes of local whites and their hostility toward African Americans in Augusta County. Much of Jackson’s communication deals with locating displaced family members of local freedmen, and in some cases arranging transportation for reuniting. He reports on several court cases concerning assaults against blacks, and Jackson continues to field a variety of labor and legal disputes. A new school in Augusta writes Jackson for aid, and many letters deal with black schools. Jackson is generally more pessimistic about local conditions and contrasts the sobriety of the freedmen during the Christmas holidays with the drunkenness of area whites.