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Fort Magruder Feb 12th 1866 Capt CB Wilder A.Q.M. and Supt. Bureau 9th Dist. Supt Bureau 9th Dist. Sir; Today the colored people convened at this place for the purpose of electing an "agent" for the Bureau--a "judge" of the Freedmen's court. They were extremely anxious to elect one of their own color. I told them that it would not be approved of--that we had tried that. They seemed very disappointed, and very sad. They felt that they were free in one sense, but not in the exercise of their own wills, no matter how pure their object. They had thought of every white man in the county; a committee of eight had been studying for a week on whom they could find among the white inhabitants, that they could elect with any confidence that they could elect with any confidence that they would receive justice at his hand. There was but one man, Dr. Jennings, that they had any confidence in at all, either in James City county, or Williamsburg; and he got but six (6) votes. I speak of the native citizens of the county. They finally concluded to elect Mr Weigel.
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Reopened for Editing 2023-07-31 12:43:42 to add in a missing line, fix the [?] and add a missing word.