93

Clarence Morfit.

Letter describing the last carload of looted currency held by the Confederate prison system on the eve of its surrender.

Charlotte, NC, 25 April 1865
Autograph Letter Signed "C Morfit" as Confederate Army captain and assistant quartermaster, to Brigadier General David Ruggles, the head of the Confederate prison system. 2 pages, 12¾ x 7¾ inches, apparently a retained draft; minor wear and ink staining, short separation along one fold.

  • Notes: This letter dates from literally the eve of the last major surrender of the Confederate Army. General Johnston's Army of the Tennessee was already deep into surrender negotiations, and signed its surrender the following day on 26 April. Here, the head of the infamous Confederate prison system receives a report on the remnants of the prison treasury, as it was shipped out of Richmond, hidden in an ambulance on the retreat, split up among two officers, and partially captured.  

    "The property belonging to prisoners was sent by rail-road from Richmond to Danville and was left there upon the evacuation of that place as I did not know where it was stored. That the money was to have been sent, along with the other valuables, in charge of my clerk but he failed to report to me, and I brought it in an ambulance as far as Ca Ira, Cumberland Co., Virginia. At this place there was a probability of being intercepted by the enemy and Maj. J.H. Carrington deemed it best to divide the risk and took charge of $670.50 in gold and $5400 in greenbacks. I brought the remainder to Danville and as that place was reported to be surrounded by the enemy, Maj. Carrington took charge of about $2500 in U.S. currency and bank notes. I have left in my possession about $674 in bank notes, $362 in greenbacks and $400 in U.S. postal currency, and $13,000 in C.S. old issue. I cannot say without my books that all the gold belonged to prisoners as I had some funds in my charge belonging to deceased soldiers. I have learned since leaving Danville that the chest of valuables containing also the books and papers relating to prisoners' funds was in a house with Maj. Bentley's stores and that he turned everything over to the civil authorities." 

    Clarence Morfit (1828-1910) was appointed to a very specialized role in the Confederate Army in 1864: buying United States currency from incoming prisoners, in exchange for Confederate money they could actually use in prison. The greenbacks could then be used in international trade with merchants who were wary of Confederate currency. 

    This letter is apparently a retained draft, with a few hasty corrections. The copy sent to Ruggles was published in the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume VIII, page 512. 
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