Letter from Mayor R. D. McLean to Mississippi Governor William L. Sharkey; August 1, 1865
Title
Letter from Mayor R. D. McLean to Mississippi Governor William L. Sharkey; August 1, 1865
Subject
Mississippi. Governor; Sharkey, William Lewis, 1798-1873; Slavery.; Trials
Description
From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Sharkey Collection. Letter from R. D. McLean, the mayor of Grenada, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor William L. Sharkey asking if African Americans who are allegedly stealing in the community can be tried under the old codes that applied to enslaved people.
Creator
McLean, R. D.
Publisher
Mississippi Department of Archives and History. (electronic version); Mississippi Digital Library. (electronic version)
Date
1865-08-01
Contributor
Funding for this project provided by The Dale Center for Study of War and Society-USM, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Mississippi Digital Library, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the University of Southern Mississippi, and the Watson-Brown Foundation
Rights
NO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATES; http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
Language
English
Identifier
mdah_771-956-01-03
Coverage
1865
Text
Page 1:
Grenada August 1st 1865
His Excellency W L Sharkey
Sir—I hope you will pardon me for again troubling you, but these are times when the wisest are lost in the fog—negroes are troubling us constantly by committing depredations of various kinds—stealing—breaches of the [?] &c and I know not what to do with them unless I can try them under the Slave Code; particularly [embraced?] in Sections 12 for the organization of the court—and two or three sections following, taking it for granted that the negroes are all free—the code provides the same mode of trial for free negroes as is [strikethrough]if[strikethrough] for slaves—seee articles 90—section 13—I desire the information solely for the purpose of discharging my duty as a civil officer—I have been practising law for twenty five years but still need advice—
Yours very respectfully,
R D McLean Mayor
of Grenada
Page 2:
A D McLene
Asking Information in regard to negroes committing offences
Grenada August 1st 1865
His Excellency W L Sharkey
Sir—I hope you will pardon me for again troubling you, but these are times when the wisest are lost in the fog—negroes are troubling us constantly by committing depredations of various kinds—stealing—breaches of the [?] &c and I know not what to do with them unless I can try them under the Slave Code; particularly [embraced?] in Sections 12 for the organization of the court—and two or three sections following, taking it for granted that the negroes are all free—the code provides the same mode of trial for free negroes as is [strikethrough]if[strikethrough] for slaves—seee articles 90—section 13—I desire the information solely for the purpose of discharging my duty as a civil officer—I have been practising law for twenty five years but still need advice—
Yours very respectfully,
R D McLean Mayor
of Grenada
Page 2:
A D McLene
Asking Information in regard to negroes committing offences