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266   267

Bureau RF & AL
Richmond Va Dec 20th/65
Respectfully returned to Capt Wilder for compliance with Endorsement of Maj Gen'l Howard Commissioner &c in this case. 
By order of Col O Brown
James A. Bates AAAG
Fow'd Dec 20th 1865.


Merrell H. S.
Lieut & Supt
Richmond Va
Dec 18th 1865.
259

Recd Back Dec 20th 1865. Endorsed
Bureau &c Office Chf Med Off
Richmond Va Dec 20th 1865
Respectfully returned. I have no Medical Officer I can assign to this duty. I will make a contract with one as soon as a proper one can be found and will lose no time in finding one.
(Sgd) J. J. DeLamater Surg & Chf Md Off

Bureau RF & AL
Richmond Va Dec 20th 1865
Respectfully returned to Lt Merrell.
By order of Col O Brown
James A. Bates AAAG
Ret'd Dec 21st 1865.


Snyder J. N.
Culpepper C.H. Va
Nov 27th 1865
229/303

Rec'd Back Dec 19th 1865. Endorsed

Gordonsville Va. Dec 15th 1865
Respectfully returned to Col. O. Brown Asst Comr. I am the party referred to in this communication as holding an election at Culpepper [[Culpeper]] C.H. for members of the Freedmens court on the 25th ult, That portion of the communication which charges me with being in collusion with "would be leading citizens" & having been controlled in my action by any citizen or citizens is an absolute unequivocal falsehood- It is true as stated that John. N. Snyder was the choice of a large majority of the col'd men. I was informed by Capt Earl Pierce the Asst Supt at Culpepper. that this man was entirely unfit for the position, & that his representation was such in the community that no respectable man would consent to be associated with him in the formation of the court, that he (Snyder) was living with a prostitute Negress- that on this account & because of his general immorality, he was not recognized by any respectable men. I was confirmed in this opinion by the absolute refusal of several persons, suggested by the Citizens to represent them in the court, to serve with Snyder- This refusal was communicated to me & was based on the facts above set forth
The colored people asked me to tell them the objections raised to Mr Snyder- not wishing to publicly proclaim his shame, I simply said that charges had been made against Mr Snyder which if true rendered him objectionable and advised another election. no action was taken in regard to my suggestion, after the meeting was dismissed I found that no court could be organized with Mr Snyder as a member- The fact that he lived in a state of prostitution with a Negress was everywhere affirmed. and was admitted by the colored men themselves. They however insisted that Mr Snyder only did a little more publicly what nearly every southern men did privately and that therefore he ought not to be objectionable on that account, When Genl Howard was here. he told me himself that the members of the court should be honorable & respectable men, who had the confidence of the community- Whatever be the facts of the case in regard to Mr Snyder (of which I know nothing personally) he has not the confidence of the community, and consequently does not fill the bill- Not willing that the interests of the colored people should be compromised by being represented by a man of Snyder's reputation - I called another meeting of the more prominent colored men of the Town - I presume there were 30 or 40, present - Not one citizen was there & so far from this meeting being called at the instigation of the White citizens - I do not believe that any citizen of Culpepper knew of the meeting till it was over- Lieut Bly of the 96th N.Y. Vols & myself were the only white men present- I advised the colored men who were assembled to select another man to represent them - & told them my reasons- They acquiesced & chose a Mr Geo Williams who from the first was the favorite of a number of the most prominent colored men, & was the second choice of Mr Snyders supporters- On this I set aside the election of Mr Snyder & acquiesced in the appointment of Mr Williams, who according to Mr Snyders own testimony is a "perfect Gentleman- To you Col. it is unnecessary for me to defend myself against the charge of sacrificing the interests of the freedmen to the desire of gaining personal popularity with the whites- I have only to add that while I count no favors from former Rebels I will

Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-03-30 09:32:52 I deleted a lot of punctuation that did not exist in the image but that a previous transcriber had inserted. Please type only what you see, not what you might expect to see in a modern document. ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-03-30 17:39:55 Just fixed a couple typos Frequently mentioned "Culpepper" likely refers to either the town of Culpeper or Culpeper County. ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-03-31 09:44:56