From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Letter from Edward J. Rew to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, detailing his proposed method for obstructing the passage of boats on the Mississippi River. Included is an "explanatory note" containing Rew's sketches and annotations.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Letter from Captain John S. Neal, 3rd Battalion, Mississippi State Troops, at Monticello, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, relating his work in procuring salt, arresting deserters, and impressing equipment.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Petition from several citizens of Newton and Jasper Counties, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, requesting the release of James M. Pearce, the only blacksmith in the area, from militia service.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Letter from Thomas Weldon at Yazoo City, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, asking that Miles T. Brown be detailed to work on construction of a "war steamer" commissioned by the Confederate government. Weldon's letter is witnessed by and sworn before justice of the peace M. A. Jenkins.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Letter from T. B. Sykes at Aberdeen, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, asking for a military appointment for his son, E. Turner Sykes, a soldier in the Army of Northern Virginia.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Letter from R. S. Hudson at Benton, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, concerning the impressment of enslaved persons to work on fortifications at Vicksburg, Mississippi.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Letter from Thomas M. Sargent, president of the county board of police at Macon, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, asking that Pettus prevent Robert B. Holman from being called out for military service. To support his request, Sargent states that Holman is a "delicate man" unable to perform military service. Sargent further states that Holman is "in control of" the enslaved persons on five plantations in the neighborhood; that he medically treats soldiers' families while most of the area's practicing physicians are away serving in the Confederate Army; and that he regularly assists in distributing supplies from the county. On the reverse, Sargent hand-copies an excerpt from a letter certifying that Holman is physically unfit for military service.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Letter from James E. Eads at Oxford, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, discussing the price of shoe leather.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Letter from several citizens of Black Hawk, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, asking that Richard W. Cole be exempted from Confederate military service. To justify the exemption, the petitioners state that Cole is in "feable health" due to a wagon accident that left him unable to perform much manual labor. The petitioners further state that Cole is responsible for overseeing a plantation; that he is a justice of the peace; that he lost his eldest son, a Confederate soldier, at Camp Beauregard; that his wife and children depend on him; and that he collected guns for Confederate use.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Letter T. W. Winston, a former Confederate officer at Jonesville, Texas, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, asking whether he is exempt from the draft under the terms of the latest conscription exemption bill. Winston states that though he is thirty-four years of age and therefore within the age range of men eligible for conscription, he, his sister, and a W. H. Winston hold ninety five enslaved persons between their three properties. He further complains that he and his relatives have no one to oversee their properties.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Commission issued by Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus appointing Erwin Blythe as First Lieutenant in Company C, 6th Regiment, Mississippi Militia.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Commission issued by Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus appointing Charles N. Powell as Captain in Company A, 8th Regiment, Mississippi Militia.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Petition from the officers of the 8th Mississippi Infantry in camp near Warrington, Florida, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, seeking Pettus's help in securing a transfer to the Mississippi sea coast.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Petition from several citizens of Winston County, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, asking for exemptions for Joseph T. Brown and Henry W. Anderson from Confederate military service so that they may continue rendering their services to the area's "destitute families".

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Petition from the "Yazoo Swamp Country" portion of Carroll County, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, asking for exemption from Confederate military service for Dr. J. H. Peables.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Petition from several citizens of Cato, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, seeking an exemption for Dr. C. R. Norman from Confederate military service so that he may continue practicing medicine in the area.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Letter from Sarah Coombs at Helena, Arkansas, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, reporting on soldiers hospitalized in Nashville, Tennessee. Coombs also encloses a list of hospitalized soldiers and asks Pettus to publish it.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Petition from several citizens of Warren County, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, asking Pettus's help to get a special legislative act passed specifying rules for school trustee elections in the county as well as the duties of elected trustees.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Three letters concerning the whereabouts of Robert De Shelter, whom Jamison Dismukes (now a prisoner at the Mississippi State Penitentiary) allegedly murdered. In the first letter, from William R. Temple at Bahala (now Beauregard), Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus, Temple attests that he was well-acquainted with Robert De Shelter and that he saw and spoke with De Shelter "about two months ago". In postscript, Temple adds that De Shelter was a Confederate Army volunteer and claims De Shelter was on his way to Virginia. In the second letter, a few citizens of Copiah County, Mississippi, write to Pettus to vouch for Temple's character and the veracity of his claims. In the third letter, three individuals attest to having seen De Shelter, two of them stating that they believe De Shelter is in the Confederate Army.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. List from Captain Tully F. Parker at Marietta, Itawamba County (now Prentiss County), Mississippi, listing the men in the "Marietta Rifles" (Company G, 26th Mississippi Infantry) under his command who have or have not performed nine days of drill. Parker's list is witnessed by and sworn before R. Price, justice of the peace for Tishomingo County, Mississippi. In a note on the reverse dated June 29, 1861, Adjutant General Pro Tem D. P. Porter acknowledges receipt of the list.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Commission issued by Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus appointing John Butler as First Lieutenant in the Seven Stars Artillery.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Articles of enlistment for the "Lauderdale Springs Greys" (Company C, 5th Mississippi Infantry) tendering the company's services to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Newspaper clipping listing Mississippi's state executive and judiciary officers for the year 1859. Included are salaries, terms of office, information on elections, terms of courts, and the times and places that courts are held. (On the obverse, the printed year 1859 is crossed out in two places and the year 1868 notated in pencil on the side).

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Commission issued by Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus appointing Walter C. Kearney as First Lieutenant in the "Beauregard Rifles" (Company I, 18th Mississippi Infantry).

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Pettus Collection. Account of expenditures from Mississippi State Geologist Eugene W. Hilgard listings the expenditures of the Mississippi State Geological Survey from August 16, 1860, to March 15, 1861.