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Plymouth April 4th 1866

Col. Whittlesey

When I left this county I placed Mr. A. Hardison in possessions of my plantation; afterwards and during the War, Mr. E.H. Willis of this place, under some supposed or imaginary  authority took the possession of my lands and claimed the rents, letting Mr. Hardison stay on my land and making him (Hardison) give him (Willis) a bond for the rents. Hardison paid all the rents to his order until last fall, when he had our bale of Rent Cotton.  Lieut. Schwartz came here and demanded the Cotton he sold the same to a Mr. Penoyer who paid him for it, and Hardison delivered the cotton to Mr. Penoyer.  Shortly after; Lieut. Tenant of the Freedmen's Bureau came here, said Schwartz had no right to it, and he seized it and put it in store. The party storing the cotton has been notified by Penoyer not to deliver the cotton.  Lieut. Tenant demands the cotton and says he will hold the storing party responsible. I have been robbed and plundered of all my rents and this last act takes all. The cotton is mine, as it was raised on my land as rent cotton. You informed us that none of our lands in Washington County had