This is a very nice piece of Confederate history from the
state of Mississippi. This is an original rice paper letter from William H.
Brown who served as the Quartermaster General for the Army of the state of
Mississippi at the outbreak of the Civil War. These then and fragile documents
are written on rice paper which feels about half as thin as a standard sheet of
paper. Because they are so thin, the documents become much more legible with a
colored background. These would have been copies that Brown kept of official
letters that he wrote in his position as Quartermaster General of Mississippi.
The document is written in Brown ink and as you can see the acid in the ink has
worn through some places in the rice paper. It was written on August 20, 1861
to General C.G. Dahlgren who was located in Natchez, Mississippi. Brown is
checking to see if General Dahlgren would accept the transfer of a company to
his brigade. The unit he is inquiring about was known as the "Chunky Heroes" who
were from the town of Chunky which is in Newton County, Mississippi and served
as company D of the 3rd Mississippi Infantry. The document itself
measures 8 5/8 inches by 3 ¼ inches in overall size. This is a good looking
original document from Confederate Mississippi.