Posted on 08/17/2005 11:45:31 AM PDT by Between the Lines
COLUMBIA - A judge has ruled that a collection of rare, Civil War-era letters belong to South Carolina rather than the man who has had them in his family for generations.
The state sued after Charleston resident Thomas Willcox tried to auction off the letters. Willcox, a descendant of Confederate Gen. Evander Law, filed for bankruptcy soon after.
The collection includes more than 440 letters detailing life in South Carolina between 1861 and 1863.
Many letters are correspondence between generals or the Confederate government and S.C. Govs. Francis Pickens and Milledge Bonham during the Civil War. Three are written by Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Other letters are from residents asking for help defending their communities or for the return of their slaves, who were taken from plantations to help build fortifications. Some letters provide gory details on the realities of war.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Waites issued an order Monday stating that the letters deal with the official duties of the governor and therefore are public records.
A large portion of the letters relate to the governor's military duties, Waites said in the ruling.
"These include information relating to military supplies and shortages, military preparations, the strength and condition of the military, documentation of troop movement, accounts and reports on results of certain battles, and use of funds for military purposes," Waites wrote.
Other provisions enacted during the period are mentioned in the letters, Waites said.
In 1861, the governor was authorized to issue bonds or stock in the name of the state to continue the construction of the new Statehouse. One letter, dated June 7, 1861, from Gov. Pickens to the president of the Bank of South Carolina deals with work on the capitol and the sale of state stock, the judge wrote.
Many of the letters have markings on them consistent with the docketing system of the day.
"Such a docketing system appears to indicate an intent to preserve the document as relating to the public office," Waites said.
State Attorney General Henry McMaster said it was important for the state to get the letters back because they represent "a unique historic and turbulent period in our country and state."
"We must do all we can to preserve the rich history and proud heritage of our state."
The letters will provide a link to the past for researchers, historians and students, said Rodger Stroup, director of the state Department of Archives and History.
"We owe a debt of gratitude to the Willcox family for preserving the documents all these years," McMaster said.
Willcox's attorney, Kenneth Krawcheck, said he learned of the ruling Tuesday and had not had time to examine it.
"We're going to review it in detail and then determine if we need to file an appeal," he said.
doctrine of latches? too much time has passed.
Content may be public information but the actual "papers" should go to the trustee for sale.
Oh, so it only depends on who you cheat.
Where is the bankrupcy trustee?
Who is the lawyer who let this man with that type of an asset file for bankruptcy?
That didn't help the yankees who had the stolen documents from North Carolina.
The poor guy should sue his bankruptcy attorney.
Thats funny, I thought the confederate goverment was an illegitimate goverment which would or should negate the ownership by the state government of SC which I thought was part of this illegitimate government.
They'll probably claim they were stolen property and he should feel lucky they are not going to prosecute him for trying to fence stolen property, therefore no "storage fees" or "preservation fees"..........
Yep! Finders keepers, losers weepers.
Dang. Then maybe I shouldn't let them know I have two papers dated Sept. 2nd, 1779. The most beautiful script I have ever seen.
There's an old saying - "possession is nine-tenths of the law" - that comes to mind here. If these documents were in the family's possession for generations, how can the state claim they are official documents? Wouldn't they have to provide evidence that the documents were obtained in an illegitimate manner? Governments throw out thousands of documents on a daily basis; after the mandatory archival period expires, the vast majority are shredded and thrown away. These were not "historical documents" at the time they were created; they were routine correspondence of the sort that is normally not even archived. I think we're seeing a daylight robbery here. I think the state failed to prove rightful ownership of the documents; the "chain of evidence" has long since vanishhed.
Confederate ping
BTTT!!!!!!!
I agree with that. The former state was part of another government that no longer exists. It was a legitmate government unto itself.
...of a government that either doesn't exist any more or never existed legally (depending on your view of the WBTS). How can Confederate records always within private hands be the property of the U.S.?
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