McCulloch, Hugh

[Stephen Longfellow] United States Treasury Department Letter Regarding Smuggling of Goods from Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick, Canada into the United States--1868

1868. [Stephen Longfellow] United States Treasury Department Letter Regarding Smuggling of Goods from Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick, Canada into the United States--1868

Bifolium letter on Treasury Department letterhead measures 9 7/8 x 7 3/4 inches. Manuscript on first page plus docket to last page. Two previous horizontal folds. Moderate soiling. Odd green spotting to last page. Good condition.

Intriguing letter (secretarial with McCulloch's signature) from Secretary of Treasury Hugh McCullouch to Collector of Customs, Machias, Maine, Stephen Longfellow. Letter warns Longfellow that an "organized band of smugglers has its head-quarters at the Island of Grand Manan, (New Brunswick, Canada) and that it operates chiefly by the means of fraudulent landing certificates of merchandise...." McCulloch goes on to write, "you are therefore directed to pay particular attention to all exports (?) for said island, made at your port, and to scrutinize very closely all landing certificates received by you therefore."

Grand Manan Island had a long and colorful history of smugglers and pirates operating there along with nearby Campobello and Indian Island.

Hugh McCulloch (1808-1895) played an oversized role in organizing financing for the American Civil War and was appointed Secretary of Treasury twice, by Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. Less is written about Stephen Longfellow (1834-1905), perhaps being overshadowed by his two poet brothers Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Samuel Langfellow. Item #2706

Price: $150.00