Description:

(UNION NAVY) USS JULIET CAPTURES CONFEDERATE COTTON ON THE RED RIVER
An interesting war-date manuscript L.S., 1p. 4to., ‘Off Red River Landing', April 16, 1864, from U.S. Navy captain JOHN STOUGHTON WATSON, commander of the tin-clad gunboat USS JULIET, to Capt. Thomas A. Devine, commanding the sidewheel gunboat USS CHAMPION. Watson writes from aboard the Juliet at the height of the Red River Campaign, in full: ‘While on the station which you are now commanding, I seized thirteen Bales of Cotton at Jacksons Point, for which Mr Jackson deposited $2000.00 with me, as a guarranty [sic] for the delivery of the cotton, if ordered so by the Admiral [David D. Porter]. My instructions from the Admiral is, to send it to Cairo [Illinois]. Enclosed you will find the two thousand dollars, which you will hand over to Mr Jackson, upon the delivery of the said cotton. You will also please mark the cotton Prize Cotton U.S.S. Juliet, and forward it to Cairo - at the first opportunity.' Watson signs at the conclusion in black ink, adding a postscript at the left margin instructing Devine to get a receipt from Jackson. Shows original mailing folds with small splits thereto at the right edge, barely touching the text, and a mounting strip to the verso on the left edge, otherwise in fine condition overall. The Red River Campaign of March 10 to May 22, 1864, was a massive joint operation between Army forces under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks and the Mississippi Flotilla under Rear Admiral David D. Porter, and was intended to capture Shreveport while cutting off Confederate forces in Louisiana and Arkansas. Banks' advance was turned back by his defeat at the Battle of Mansfield, while Confederate diversions of the river prevented Porter from advancing past Alexandria, and the campaign ended in miserable failure which likely extended the war by several months by delaying the capture of Mobile. The Juliet was heavily damaged by Confederate shore batteries during Porter's withdrawal. Of particular interest is the decision on the parts of Banks and Porter to allow cotton speculators to accompany the expedition; The ‘Mr. Jackson' mentioned in the letter presented here was likely one of these.

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March 27, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

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