Tuesday, August 30, 2022

William Preston Smith to William A. Gorton, November 29, 1859

Cumberland, Nov. 29, 1859.
W. A. Gorton,
        Martinsburg:

Send me by telegraph, either here or to Piedmont, a full account of the particulars of the arrest of the three gentlemen taken from our express train last night at your station.

See the commanding officer and ask him to prevent armed men from entering our cars a second time, as it will work injury to the Company, without, as we believe, doing good to the interests of the State of Virginia.

On what information, and from whom, was this action taken. See the passengers themselves and tell them they are indebted to Government agents only for their molestation.

W. P. SMITH.

SOURCE: B. H. Richardson, Annapolis, Maryland, Publisher, Correspondence Relating to the Insurrection at Harper's Ferry, 17th October, 1859, p. 59

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