[Manuscript – Civil War – Ohio – Economy – Slavery Debate] Chapin, Henry

Autograph Letter Discussing Financial Panic, Agricultural Conditions, and the Coming Necessity of Emancipation: “The President possesses the war power to abolish slavery […] and the time will come when they will have to do it.”

Lafayette, Ohio: July 11, 1861. Autograph letter signed, 2 pp. Addressed to D. T. Chapin of Enfield, Connecticut. Good condition with normal folds and light wear. Item #Cat338

A concise but revealing early Civil War letter combining financial anxiety, agricultural reporting, and clear-eyed political commentary on slavery and the future course of the conflict. Writing amid the first months of the American Civil War, Chapin opens with the immediate purpose of the letter—forwarding “a draft of $240 for int. on the note”—before situating the payment within a deteriorating economic landscape: “It is very difficult to get money now, even of the best men.” He describes a local economy under strain, noting “no market for wool to bring in money,” compounded by regional instability “on account of the bank failing and many of the merchants in Medina closing,” concluding bluntly: “Terrible bursting times with them.” Even the act of sending funds carries uncertainty, as he cautions that “in these times I consider there is a risk in the best of banks.” Alongside these concerns, Chapin provides a snapshot of agricultural conditions: “Corn is very backward and short, wheat nearly middling, grass rather below middling,” summing up the situation as “rather tight times, as well as troubled times.”

The most significant portion of the letter, however, turns to the war itself and the unresolved question of slavery. He writes:

“We hope the end will be well, but our nation will have to be humbled. It is well to put down rebellion, but it is rather queer that the cause of the trouble must be let entirely alone. The nation will get their eyes open after a while. The President possesses the war power to abolish slavery, and Congress possess the power also in my humble opinion, and the time will come when they will have to do it unless the south run their heads so hard against the rock as to do it themselves.”

The letter closes with a brief note on a failed business transaction—“our trade, for the sale of the mill fell through”—underscoring the economic uncertainty of the moment, before returning to family matters. Overall an evocative early Civil War letter by a merchant expressing fears and anxiety for the pending conflict.

Price: $375.00