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Norfolk, Va  9 Sept 1865

Colonel O. Brown,
Assistant Commissioner for Virginia,
Richmond,

Colonel, I wrote you on the 2nd Ult. in regard to the property of my brother, Mr. Thomas A. Hardy, and others, and regret much that I have not had the pleasure to hear from you since; this was an important letter, and I certainly thought you would write me.  My friend, Mr. John Manning, Jr., will hand you this, with the formal applications of my brother, Mr. Thomas A. Hardy, my nephew, Mr. William T. Hardy, for the restoration of their property therein mentioned.  Permit me to express the earnest hope that you will take time to read these applications while Mr. Manning is with you, or allow him to read them to you, so that you can decide, and through him let me and my brother know, what you intend to do, and what else is necessary to be done by my brother and my nephew to enable them to regain possession of their property.  If you did not feel fully empowered before, you are not certainly authorized under the late order of Maj. Genl. O. O. Howard, to restore this property to my brother and my nephew if you think it just and proper to do so, without reference to any authority in Washington.  During the personal acquaintance I had with you here, you were kind enough to tell me on more than one occasion, that you had implicit confidence in every thing I said to you in regard to my