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Description
Fresh off graduating from the U.S.Naval academy in 1854, he writes his Cousin Dick about his present precarious situation being charged with court martial and is presently under "house arrest". He states that his only crime is being independant and expressing his opinions." In addition he believes "if found not gulity" it would be on the coatails & pedigree of his father's respected name?
Eggleston discusses the other officers that have been charged, and the miscarriage of justice inflicted upon the main officer who was dismissed from their squardron. He also say's he makes good use of his time while being under " arrest" by studying from dusk to dawn,and in a few days his ship will arrive in Panama.
Other notations of significance: I was told in my letters from home,you were about to write Jeff Davis ( Jefferson Davis) and one other gentleman ( see letter) in regard to my sentance."
The four- page letter concludes as Eggleston is reflecting on his school days and affection towards family and friends during this crisis. He mentions the Frigate Savanna and how his friend ( Campbell) is presently being assigned to and headed to Brazil.
The USS John Adams was a frigate built in Charleston, South Carolina and launched on June 5, 1799. The ship was named after the second President of the United States, John Adams.
*Brief Biography of John Randolph Eggleston:
John was born in 1831. He was the son of William Eggleston and Frances Archer. He entered the US Navy in 1847 as an acting midshipman and served in the Mexican War and in a Venezuelan expedition. He was then sent to the US Naval Academy where he graduated in 1854, 9th in a class of 42. He then served on the USS Adams on a cruise to the Far East which lasted four years. Following duty blockading the now illegal slave trade, he resigned in 1861 and joined the Confederate Navy. He served as first lieutenant on the CSS Merrimack in its battle against the USS Monitor. After the war he was editor of the Mobile Journal and a planter in Mississippi He passed away in 1913. His correspondence is included in the R.T.Archer Collection of the University of Texas, Austin. He was married to Sarah Dabney late in life and had no children.
Construction of frigate Savannah began in 1820, but it was not launched until May 1842. It served in the Pacific Squadron from 1844 to 1860, and then was deployed off the Georgia coast during the Civil War.
Biography of William Eggleston father of John Randolph Eggleston:
William was born in 1792. He was 9 years old when his father died, so Senator William Archer, a cousin, became his guardian. He served in the militia in the War of 1812, for which he was called "Captain" thereafter. In 1819 his father's will left him his inheritance: about 35 slaves, a tract of land in Ohio and cash to purchase land in Amelia. In 1820 he made the trip west to Ohio and also to visit his uncle David Meade in Kentucky. He evidently sold his Ohio land at this time.Firmly established, he married Frances Archer in 1821. He first bought land in Powhatan but after a year sold it to his brother Charles. He then bought Cassels, a 472 acre plantation which adjoined the land of his father-in-law Dr Archer and close to Egglestetton. By the early 1820s he began preparations to leave Amelia, most significantly when he purchased 70 slaves at the estate auction of his wife's grandmother. He formed a partnership with his cousin Stephen Archer, sending all his slaves to Mississippi where Archer employed them. The partners then purchased land which they formed into two Mississippi plantations. He moved the rest of his family out about 1835 and built a house on the eastern-most plantation, which became Wanalaw. Archer kept the western most plantation. William was then caught by the economic slump which hit Mississippi and was nearly bankrupt when he passed away in 1845. His correspondance is included in the R.T.Archer Collection of the University of Texas, Austin.
*****NOTICE: The photographs of John Randolph Eggleston DO NOT come with this lot or listing. They are provided for historical reference only. The first image which is a daguerreotype, shows him as an officer while serving aboard the USS John Adams. (About the same time he wrote this letter) The second shows him as an esteemed elderly veteran wearing his Confederate Cross of Honor.
