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homes, I visited my place and found the dwelling so much damaged that I had to hire a carpenter to repair the same and as the sickly season was then at hand, I postponed removing my family until Fall. I however sent down a few freedmen (formerly my slaves) to remain on the place and protect the buildings from fire &c and having hired all of them as laborers for the next year, I propose taking them all down with me when I remove my family which will be about the 1st October. During the time of the abandonment of this land by me, there was a white man (by name Jones) with his family who remained on the place for a part of the time and who perhaps never would have left it, but for the frequent raids of the negroes from the Islands -

This land is not now and never has at any time been occupied by any U.S. Troops whatever nor has any portion of the land at any time during the war or at the present ever been occupied or cultivated by any freedmen -

The Act of Congress says that land shall be considered as "Abandoned land" when the lawful owner thereof shall be voluntarily absent therefrom - This I think settles the matter in my case, as I was not in consequence of lieu Pemberton's order and the