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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC00722.55 |
| From Archive Folder | William McBlair collection |
| Title | Benjamin J. Totten to William McBlair ordering him to receive two prisoners, and to exchange drummer boys |
| Date | 25 March 1859 |
| Author | Totten, Benjamin J. (1806-1877) |
| Recipient | McBlair, William |
| Document Type | Military document |
| Content Description | Ordering McBlair to receive two prisoners, and to exchange drummer boys. Informs McBlair that he will receive on his ship "the men Connor and Breckendorf, sentenced by Summary Court Martial to be discharged from the Naval Services." Also orders McBlair to exchange drummers. Edwin Donnohoe, the drummer boy on board Totten's ship, is being sent to McBlair's ship because he "was implicated in an unnatural crime with the man Breckendorf, and perjured himself before the Summary Court Martial, and therefore should be discharged from the corps as soon as possible." Written on board the U.S.S. "Vincennes." |
| Subjects | Military History Military Law Sexuality Navy Maritime Prisoner Africa African Squadron African American History |
| People | Totten, Benjamin J. (1806-1877) McBlair, William (d. 1863) |
| Theme | Naval & Maritime; Law; African Americans; Slavery & Abolition |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859 |
| Additional Information | William McBlair was a United States naval officer in command of the ship "Dale," responsible for catching illegal slave trading ships off the coast of Africa. Later served in the Confederate Navy. Benjamin J. Totten was the commander of the U.S.S. "Vincennes," later promoted to commodore and served as governor of the naval asylum at Philadelphia for two years. Also published a number of works regarding the navy. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859 |