I found this document a few weeks ago in a box of John Magee Correspondence. The box has documents from 1860 to 1868. Many of the documents in this series are requests for employment, land and mine surveys, and, requests for loans. After a few days of going through the box, I had gotten to know the handwriting of John Magee, his sons, (Duncan, George, and John Jr) and his agents in Fall Brook. These personal family letters are my favorite because sometimes I get so caught up in trying to understand railroads and coal that I forget what is happening outside of the railroad business. This letter and many of the other personal family letters discuss what is happening in the world outside of the business. This one discusses the start of the Civil War, and secessionist and unionist views.
This letter was written by John Magee Jr, the son of John Magee, founder of Fall Brook Coal Company. John Magee and Arabelle Steuart were married in 1831, and had ten children. Duncan, George, John, and Hebe, were the only four to survive past childhood. John Magee Jr. was born in 1844 and attended The New Haven Collegiate and Commercial Institute, which is where he wrote from in this document. (His father, John Magee valued education, and often provided loans and generous donations to people who wrote him personal letters). After school, John Magee Jr. would be involved in almost every facet of the Fall Brook Coal and Railroad interest until his death, at the age of 29, in 1873. John Magee Jr. would be the President of the Wilkes-Barre and Seneca Lake Coal Company along the Fall Brook Railway route.
This letter was written by John Magee Jr, the son of John Magee, founder of Fall Brook Coal Company. John Magee and Arabelle Steuart were married in 1831, and had ten children. Duncan, George, John, and Hebe, were the only four to survive past childhood. John Magee Jr. was born in 1844 and attended The New Haven Collegiate and Commercial Institute, which is where he wrote from in this document. (His father, John Magee valued education, and often provided loans and generous donations to people who wrote him personal letters). After school, John Magee Jr. would be involved in almost every facet of the Fall Brook Coal and Railroad interest until his death, at the age of 29, in 1873. John Magee Jr. would be the President of the Wilkes-Barre and Seneca Lake Coal Company along the Fall Brook Railway route.
In the first paragraph of this letter John Magee Jr. discusses visiting his mother. (In the collection I found a letter from April 5, 1961, where John Magee Jr. writes to his mother discussing coming to visit. I will post that letter in a few days). John Magee Jr. at the time this letter was written was attending The New Haven Collegiate and Commercial Institute. The school was founded in 1933 as a family school for boys, and taken over by William Huntington Russell in 1936. Russell gradually installed military characteristic, which gave the school the name “Russell Military Academy.”
The second paragraph of this letter discusses New Haven, Connecticut where John Magee Jr. is happy about being able to walk about the city. By doing some research, I was able to find a letterhead from the school that John Jr. Attended. The school was on Wooster Square, which I labeled on the map below. Finding information on the railroad depot was a little harder, and I am still unsure whether I found the correct information. At the time that John Jr. was in New Haven, it was a growing city. Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, Samuel Colt automatic revolver, and the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, would all help the economics of the city, creating growth and boosting the local economy. Because of these companies, and the growth during the Civil War, there were significantly more railroad lines that were planed and developed after 1860. The image below shows the Old Colony Railroad line, running from along the coast of Connecticut (c.1890). The depot discussed would most likely be located at the area where the Old Colony Railroad connects with the New Haven line.
When John was writing this letter, the Civil War had begun. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina Delegates to a special secession convention voted unanimously to secede from the Federal union. In November Abraham Lincoln would be elected President of the United States, with no support from the southern states. In the weeks between Lincoln's election and inauguration, more and more southern states would follow South Carolina's succession.
This letter was written on April 24, 1961 which is significant because this is just a few days after the Battle of Fort Sumter. On April 10, 1861, Brig. Gen. Beauregard, in command of the provisional Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Garrison commander Anderson refused and on April 12, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort. At 2:30 p.m., April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day. The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening engagement of the American Civil War.
This letter was written on April 24, 1961 which is significant because this is just a few days after the Battle of Fort Sumter. On April 10, 1861, Brig. Gen. Beauregard, in command of the provisional Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Garrison commander Anderson refused and on April 12, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort. At 2:30 p.m., April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day. The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening engagement of the American Civil War.
John Magee Jr’s life would have been significantly influenced by the war, especially with troops being quartered at his school, which he mentions in the letter. I was very surprised to gather from this letter, that John Jr. did not support the Union. John Jr. mentions in the letter that he was forced to go to the train depot to see the troops against his wish. He also states that when he put on the palmetto tree, and had it torn off, being told that he was not secessionist, he made no response. Additionally, he says that all of the boys think that he is for the union- showing that he is hiding his secessionist views in the school where only a few (6) people share the same view as him.
 | I really like the mention of the paper palmetto tree in the letter. When I read this letter I immediately thought of my trip to Fort Sumter earlier this year. In the museum there, they have the Flag of the Palmetto Guard, which was placed on a parapet facing Charleston after the battle of Fort Sumter. The flag of the militia unit known as the Palmetto Guard became the first southern flag to fly at Fort Sumter. The palmetto was a sign of the South, a sign of succession, and the reaction that John Magee Jr got from his classmate for wearing it, makes sense, especially in military training school in a northern city. |
I hope to explore this box a little more, and understand how the rest of the Magee family viewed the Civil War. I hope to find out whether his father and mother are secessionist. I also hope that I can see how the Civil War helped to expand the Fall Brook Company.
