Letters and Telegrams Sent
setName: label: See more items in
content: Records of the Assistant Commissioner for State of Virginia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1869
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAAHC.FB.M1048, Series 1
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The six volumes of fair copies of letters and telegrams sent, which also contain some orders, reports, and circular letters, June 1, 1865–May 13, 1869, are arranged chronologically. Fair copies are handwritten duplicates of the originals. The letters copied in each volume are arranged and numbered in chronological order by year or time expired. All volumes have separately bound name indexes except volumes 3 and 5; the indexes for these volumes are bound with fair copies. Enclosures to letters are not copied in the volumes.

Major correspondents include the AGO, Commissioner Howard's headquarters in Washington, subordinate officers of the Bureau in Virginia, U. S. Army officers, State and county officials, and private citizens and organizations. Most letters were signed by the Assistant Commissioner, but correspondence dealing with routine business matters was often signed by subordinates, principally the Inspector General and the Adjutant General, who assisted in handling correspondence.

Although many of the letters transmitting reports to the Commissioner announce appointments, request reports from subordinate Bureau officials, or deal with similar routine administrative matters, some of them concern more important matters, and transfers of Bureau property. In addition, volume 6 contains copies of the District of Virginia's monthly operation reports, December 1868–March 1869.

The margins of the volumes contain numerous cross–references to related letters sent or to other series of records of the Assistant Commissioner. The symbols "LS" and "LB" refer to the letters sent series; "LR" refers to the registers of letters received; and "B," "EB," or "E&B" refer to endorsement and memorandum books. Frequently, cross–references in the style of fractions are in the left margin of a page. The numerator is the age number in the volume of the preceding communication to the same addressee; the denominator is the page number of the subsequent communication to that addressee.

Four letters, three dated May 13 (and one dated May 31), 1869, located in a volume of duplicate (press) copies of letters sent (not reproduced as part of this microfilm publication), have been filmed at the end of volume 6 in order to complete the series of letters sent.

In addition to the main series of letters sent, there is a single volume of fair copies of letters, reports, and telegrams sent to Commissioner Howard, June 1, 1865–December 31, 1868, with a name index. The letters are numbered in sequence by year or time period. The correspondence concerns attacks on freedmen by whites, restoration of confiscated or abandoned lands, activities of Bureau personnel, transportation requisitions, and applications for pensions and bounties. Copies of district monthly operations reports, April 1867–November 1868, are included. Letters sent to Commissioner Howard after December 1868 are copied in the main series of letters sent.