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Freedmen's Bureau, State of Mississippi,
Office State Superintendent of Education,
Vicksburg, Miss., September 30, 1865.

Lieut. Stuart Eldridge,

A.A.A. General

Lieutenant ___ I have the honor to report the condition of the Educational Department of the Bureau in Mississippi at the close of the first quarter, ending this day; together with our plans for the future; for the information of Colonel Thomas, Assistant Commissioner.

Plans for the future are, indeed, the chief part of all I have to present. Teachers from the North nearly all left the field in June and July. This was accordant with my advice General Superintendent of Schools under Col. Eaton. I had observed that, though some few might safely continue their labors in schools during the summer, yet it was bad economy to attempt it. The health of so many, making the attempt, had failed; and the schools were so comparatively