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- Folded letter by US Navy Surgeon David Shelton Edwards
Folded letter by US Navy Surgeon David Shelton Edwards
Object Details
- Description
- The absence of the word "Paid" indicates that the letter was sent unpaid and 25 cents was collected from the addressee. The rate for a single letter (one sheet of paper) traveling more than 400 miles was 25 cents. In 1835 the letter probably would have traveled overland or by steamboat to Mobile, Alabama, where it joined the Great Mail route north using combinations of horse, coach, steamboat and train. The letter states there is a steamboat that transits every weekend between Pensacola, Florida and Mobile.
- In this brief letter, Harriet receives instructions from her husband David Shelton Edwards to take her time settling their business in New York and to "bring the balance of spare cash on with you." to Pensacola, Florida. Edwards explains that he does not want to stay at this station much longer and intends to apply for the position of Fleet Surgeon when it opens up.
- At this time Dr. Isaac Hulse was the Fleet Surgeon for the West Indies Squadron, the position that Edwards wants. Hulse was a well respected doctor and three time commander of the Pensacola Naval hospital until his death in 1856. A higher-ranking colleague, Hulse is mentioned frequently, if not always positively, in Edwards' letters.
- This letter is part of the correspondence of David Shelton Edwards between the years 1835 and 1848. The 48 letters from this period held by the National Postal Museum are primarily addressed to Edward's wife Harriet; in 1830, Edwards married Harriet Eliza Henry and they had two children, William and Harriet. They kept up a frequent correspondence when his naval service kept them separated. Between 1835 and 1848, Edwards served as a Surgeon at the hospital in the Pensacola Navy Yard, Florida; Fleet Surgeon to the West Indies Squadron; and Surgeon aboard many vessels engaged in the Mexican-American War. His naval career spanned from 1818 to 1861 and his last sea cruise ended in October of 1859 after which he retired to his family home in Connecticut except for a brief time spent at New Bedford, Massachusetts recruiting for the Union Navy during the Civil War. He died in Trumbull, Connecticut on March 18, 1874.
- Reference:
- Werner, Charles J. Dr. Isaac Hulse: Surgeon, U.S. Navy (1797-1856), his life and letters. New York, 1922.
- Data Source
- National Postal Museum
- Date
- July 17, 1835
- Object number
- 1978.0652.8
- Writer
- David Shelton Edwards, American, died 1874
- Type
- Covers & Associated Letters
- Medium
- paper; ink / handwritten
- Dimensions
- 39.7 x 25.4 cm (15 5/8 x 10 in.)
- Place of Origin
- Florida
- Place of Destination
- New York
- See more items in
- National Postal Museum Collection
- Topic
- American Expansion (1800-1860)
- Covers & Letters
- Record ID
- npm_1978.0652.8
- Usage
- CC0
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