Letter from Norman and Company to Mississippi Governor Charles Clark; December 1863

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Letter from Norman and Company to Mississippi Governor Charles Clark; December 1863

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Each transcribed document contains links that connect it to other documents on the same topic in the collection.

People

Clark, Charles, 1811-1877 Pemberton, John C. (John Clifford), 1814-1881 Pettus, John Jones, 1813-1867 Turner, W. C.

Events

Brine mining Military Events--Impressment Military Events--Impressment. War Material Military Events--Raid

Organizations

Foundries Norman & Company (Hickory, Miss.)Post offices

Occupations

Salt Industry Employees

Places

Alabama--Dallas County. Selma Mississippi--Jones County Mississippi--Newton County Mississippi--Newton County. Decatur Mississippi--Newton County. Hickory Mississippi--Warren County. Vicksburg

Social Identifiers

Impoverished People Military Families

Page 1

Decatur Miss Dec 1863

To His Excellency Gov Charles Clark
Macon Miss

Government

We have just seen Captain W. C. Turner Salt ag-ent who informed us that you suggested that we should submit to you a proposition in writing of what we were willing to do in the matter of the contract made by us with Gov Pettus to make for the State Twenty thousand (20000) Bu Salt & we will state for your information that we made that contract in good faith, but at the time we made it we felt doubtful about being able to get boiling power sufficient to make it The agent of the State with whom we made the contract informed us that Gov Pettus would give such authority or recommendation [page torn]o the different founderies in the Confederacy tha[page torn] he had no doubt but that we would get any amoun[page torn] we wanted, The Gov gave us a letter which we carri[page torn] to Selma and thare made a contract to have one hundred (100) kettles cast with ^a^ capacity of one hundred twenty five (125) gallons each. We went foreward and bored Four (4) artesian wells at a great expense and when we went after the Kettles were informed that Gen Pemberton had sent orders to press every foundery to make balls shells & C for Vicksburg and we got none We drew some Eighteen or Twenty Thousand dollars (18 or 20000) from Captain W. C. Turner to pay for these Kettles which money we have never used and still have on hand The little furnaces we have ^we had^ upon our own account, We have let the state have nearly Twelve hundred (1200 Bu. salt at Six $6⁰⁰ per Bu from furnaces that only yeild from Ten to Twenty Bu salt per day, When we found that we could not ge[page torn]

Page 2

Boiling power we wrote Gov Pettus to that effect and proposed to cancel the contract and restore the salt we had soled for we had soled some six or eight hundred Bushels under the panic that was created by the report that a raid was about to be made on the salt works which raid was captured in Jones County last Summer, We replied and Captain Turner and we construed his reply to mean that he would require of us to fulfill our contract up to that time we here with enclose his reply. We concluded that under the circumstances it would neither be just nor right for us to loose that amt and we refused to do it and have solded as we have made all the salt manufactured by us His reply was dated 18^th September. up to that time as per contract we were due the State nine thousand Bu Salt which would have cost us at the then ruling prices Two hundred twenty five thousand dollars One hundred five thousand more than our bond. We have as all ready stated neve used one dollar of the state funs in or upon our own little furnaces. We used the provisions. We now propose to make the stat ~~hold~~^whole^ to return all the money we have receiv-ed and to pay for the provisions not at contract prices but at the prices paid by Capt W. C. Turner for them and we are willing to let the state have in part pay the two wells and furnaces of ours situate in one hundred yards of the [coorks?] run by the state with our wood privoliges which cost us only about Twenty five thousand dollars now worth double the amount or at such price as may be greed upon by three disinterested persons, We have all ready furnished the state near Twelve hundred Bu salt at Six dollars per Bu which we could have solded ~~afor~~for four times the amount received for ^it^

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it and considering this we think our proposition just and fair. We dont want the state of Miss to loose one dollar by us nor have we ever desired the indigent families of Soldiers to suffer by us but if we were to be ruined by it as we would have been according to Gov Pettus demand when we had done all we could we thought it to hard and refused to do ^it^. We do not desire to be forsed to do our duty by the strong arm of the law Yet before we will comply with a requisition so unjust and unfair as Gov Pettes was we will stand a law suit and fight it for ever Hoping that this explaination and proposition on our part will be satisfctory

We remain Respectfully Yours

Norman &, Co

(PS) Our Post office is at Hickory Newton Cty

Page 4

Letter Dec 1863 of Norman &co as to salt Bures trust

Gov. Clark—