W. W. HOLDEN, ESQ:

My Dear Sir - As the names of some gentlemen have been suggested to the public as suitable men for Governor of our State at the present crisis, I shall take the liberty also of presenting to the public the name of a gentleman whom I think highly qualified to fill that important station. It is Gen. Samuel F. Patterson, of the county of Caldwell. – He was once clerk of the Senate, then State Treasurer, then President of the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad, and has been Senator from the county of Caldwell several terms. All of these important stations he filled with distinguished ability, with great credit to himself, and to the satisfaction of the public. He was at one time thought of as a suitable man for an appointment in Fillmore’s Cabinet. He is a man of decided ability, of excellent judgment, firmness and energy, and great prudence. He has experience, also on his side, being now a little over sixty years of age. In time of great danger, when it is necessary that our most able, discreet and prudent men – men of wisdom and experience, should be at the head of affairs, I know of no man I would sooner trust in North Carolina, then Gen. Samuel F. Patterson. He is a man of high moral character, and nothing can be said against him, either as a private citizen, or as a public man. There is not a more loyal man to the South in the Confederacy, and no man has been more liberal in his donations to the support of the army, since this war commenced. I am making no idle boast, and using [no] exaggerated language; all that I say of Gen. Patterson is well known to the citizens of our county, and can be substantiated by undoubted testimony.

I am, very respectfully, yours.
CALDWELL.

– Published in The North Carolina Weekly Standard, Raleigh, North Carolina, Wednesday, April 16, 1862, p. 1