David Shelton Edwards, American, died 1874 Search this
Medium:
paper; ink / handwritten
Dimensions:
39.7 x 24.8 cm (15 5/8 x 9 3/4 in.)
Type:
Covers & Associated Letters
Place of Origin:
Florida
Place of Destination:
New York
Date:
July 15-17, 1837
Description:
The letter was sent unpaid and the Pensacola postmaster marked it in the upper right corner for 25 cents postage due at destination, the correct rate for a single sheet letter going a distance more than 400 miles.
This is the second letter in a series as indicated by the "No. 2" written above the address.
In his first letters to his wife Harriet since she left him at his naval station in Pensacola, Florida, David Shelton Edwards gives her all the latest news of the people that she met while living there. He tells her about his travels on the Vandalia to Veracruz, Mexico and the startled reactions of the people there to the presence of the US Navy. He gives a brief description of Veracruz and explains that because their mission was peaceful they were able to negotiate an understanding with the Mexican authorities. Edwards gives Harriet instructions for the children: William should stay with David Shelton's sister Delia and their daughter should stay with Harriet. After all of this news, he relates, "Your husband last evening rec.d from the Dept. the appointment of Fleet Surgeon handed me by Com. Dallas" and explains that he will join the Constellation as soon as the current doctor leaves. Until then, he refers to himself as the "Surgeon of the St. Louis" He finishes the letter with a request that she come and visit again in the autumn.
This letter is part of the correspondence of David Shelton Edwards between the years 1835 and 1848. The 48 letters from this period held by the National Postal Museum are primarily addressed to Edward's wife Harriet; in 1830, Edwards married Harriet Eliza Henry and they had two children, William and Harriet. They kept up a frequent correspondence when his naval service kept them separated. Between 1835 and 1848, Edwards served as a Surgeon at the hospital in the Pensacola Navy Yard, Florida; Fleet Surgeon to the West Indies Squadron; and Surgeon aboard many vessels engaged in the Mexican-American War. His naval career spanned from 1818 to 1861 and his last sea cruise ended in October of 1859 after which he retired to his family home in Connecticut except for a brief time spent at New Bedford, Massachusetts recruiting for the Union Navy during the Civil War. He died in Trumbull, Connecticut on March 18, 1874.
Reference:
National Museum of American History, Naval History Archives. David Shelton Edwards Papers. Accession Number: 1978.0652.
New York Public Library, Rare Books and Manuscripts Division. "David S. Edwards papers, 1818-1865."
