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Mobile May 19th 1866
Brig. Genl. W. Swayne,
Montgomery, Ala.
General:
Prior to the late war Mess. Redditt, Judkins and Bovem, were engaged as partners in the turpentine business in Baldwin County - they were residents of North Carolina and often  their business was stopped  by the war went back to N.C. leaving their effects in the hands of Mr. Benj. Grist as their agent, who continued so to act until their return after the late war.
At the end of the war they had large quantities of rosin and crude turpentine as hand preserved in pits in the ground and it was under the care of Mr. Grist, their agent. During the summer of 1865 taking advantage of the temporary absence of Mr. Grist a man named White confederating with a man named Helton, procured a bill of sale from Helton for all this rosin and turpentine and White chartered a boat at Mobile went down and commenced recovering it in barrels. He got about one thousand barrels of crude turpentine before Mr. Grist got home and became aware of what was going on. He found a portion of it in Mobile and a part on a steamboat about leaving for New Orleans. He was advised to apply to Col. R. V. Montague, the Collector of the Port, to stop the clearance of the boat and to get the property. Col. Montague, thereupon, took charge of the property and turned it over to Mr. I. S. Webb of this city--at whose insistance to prevent wrote, the crude turpentine was distilled and sold. Col. Montague received the net proceeds account.