1862 – Letter from a New Orleans attorney providing outdated information to an associate in New York regarding the method of sending mail to him across-the-lines in the early years of the Civil War

New Orleans, Louisiana, 1862. Very good. In August 1861, the Union halted all civilian correspondence between the North and South, however it soon permitted the exchange of prisoner-of-war mail at Old Point Comfort and Norfolk in Virginia under the control of the military. At their discretion, commanders might also process civilian mail and, in instances, did so until the volume became overwhelming. On January 29, 1862, the Union officially forbade the practice when it issued Headquarters of the Army General Order No. 7 which stated, “Private letters received by officer of the Army for transmittal through the lines of the United States troops to persons (truncated) living in the enemy’s country, will not hereafter be forward, but will be sent to the Dead Letter Office, in the City of Washington.”

This one-page letter from a New Orleans attorney Louis Janin to an associate in New York City, insurance agent William S. Toole, was written on January 25, 1862, and docketing shows it was not received until February 20, long after General Order No. 7 had been published. Although the letter’s message had been superseded, it provides a concise description of how flag-of-truce mail had been previously handled.

“I understood lately that letters, containing no reference to political or military matters, could be sent North via Norfolk by Flag of truce. This I confirmed by the enclosed slip from our paper. I received some weeks ago a pile of letters from my sons in California and my wife in France. . .. If you should receive letters for me, as you did for years heretofore, I request you to send them by the flag of truce & Fort Monroe if possible. Letters so sent, are read both at Norfolk and at Fort Monroe. As I have no political correspondence, I really care only for family letters, I have no objection that the letters accepted to be opened and read. I think there must be a method of sending letters from the North to the South in the same manner. My brother in law Col. Richard Delafield [who lives in New York will no doubt be good enough to mitigate and facilitate the way of sending me such letters. He certainly has friends at Fort Monroe. If my letter reaches you I desire to send you letters for my family by the same channel.
This letter, which is without envelope and bears no postal or ship markings was sent north by flag of truce as Janin described since he intends to send more “by the same channel.”

It is in nice shape. There is a scuff and tear in the lower left corner where the newspaper article he described was likely attached, and the remains of a sealing wafer in the right corner where he had attached a half-dime to pay for postage north to New York from Norfolk. . Online newspaper articles, classified ads, and genealogical records show that Toole was active in anti-Lincoln politics and that although Jainin was a prominent property attorney in New Orleans, he also used 79 enslaved workers to farm a large sugar plantation in St. Bernard Parish. One of Janin’s sons was a Yale-educated mining engineer and played a prominent roll mining the Comstock Lode, and later advising mining interests in Mexico, Australia, and Japan.

Quite an interesting letter whose message was overtaken by events before it reached its recipient. . (Inventory #: 010370)