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Gift of J. Walter Shugart III, WLU Class of 1961.
[Identification of item], George Philip Harding Correspondence (WLU Coll. 0437), Special Collections and Archives, James G. Leyburn Library, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.
This collection contains three letters written by George Philip Harding from the Nevada Territory. One letter is dated January 6, 1863 and written to his sister while he's in Carson City. The letter describes his journey from New York to San Francisco via Central America. He gives a detailed account of an apparent hurricane while in the Pacific. He also mentions other interesting details about Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico and says that his party was captured by the Alabama but provide no further details. The second letter is dated July 25, 1864 and is addressed to his mother. It was written while he was in Genoa, Carson Valley. He comments on personal feelings about the Civil War and the reasons he would not take part in the fighting. The third letter is dated October 1864 and also addressed to his mother and also written from Genoa, Carson Valley. Harding makes comments about the Indian attacks on the mail companies and the subsequent takeover by a new company with U. S. Troop protection. He makes minor comments about the Civil War.