Hopper, Edward W., Letter to George from St. Helena Island, South Carolina, 1862 September 25

Item — Box: 24

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Consists of a seven-page letter from Edward W. Hopper (1839-1901), then a lieutenant in the Union Army, which provides a detailed accounting of Major General Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel's views on the need for the North to unite around the abolition of slavery. Hopper also discusses his hope that "increasing anti-slavery public sentiment" would enable the Lincoln Administration to "adopt a distinct policy" with regard to abolition. Hopper wrote the letter from Pope Plantation, St. Helena Island, South Carolina, to a friend back home in Boston, Massachusetts.

Dates

Creation: 1862 September 25

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use.

Biographical / Historical

Edward W. Hopper (1839-1901) was a lawyer, post commander and military governor in the South Carolina Sea Islands (1862-1863), and Treasurer of Harvard University (1876-1898). Hooper graduated from Harvard in 1859 and from Harvard Law School in 1861. He enlisted in the Union Army almost immediately after his graduation and was dispatched to Port Royal, South Carolina, in March 1862.