Delightful letter written in January of 1863 by James Harvey Blackwood, a young member of the 16th Virginia Cavalry (Ferguson’s Battalion) to a young woman named “Miss Underwood." The letter reads in part:

"I must frankly confess that I am greatly smitten with you, although it may be presumptive in me in aspiring to a lady whom beauty, wit, and fortune has conspired to raise so high above my reasonable expectation."

We have not located “Miss Underwood” but it can be surmised that she lived in the area of Hillsville, Virginia, where Blackwood says he will be stationed for several months. He offers to visit with her, to “prove himself worthy of [her] approbation.” It is not known whether Underwood took the young cavalier up on his offer. For his part, Blackwood saw service at several major battles in the eastern theater of the war, including Gettysburg. He died at his home in Huntington, West Virginia, in 1917. The letter, written in ink, has a mellow light brown patina to it, and is otherwise in good condition. We note in good fun that Blackwood himself calls the paper “the worst I ever saw.”

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Document, Relic]