Boston February 7^th 1865

Dear George

Hatty wrote you yesterday but forgot to
ask, if you could tell the difference between the new
"Constitutional Amendment" and Hair Dye- one
Emancipates the Blacks, the other blacks a man's pate
rather hard but it will do- Glad to hear that
you have disposed of your hay hope you obtained
a fair price- Hay and straw are now selling here
at $40 to 45. per ton. the dealers are determined
to keep the price up to forty dollars. I trust you
will make a good sale of the tobacco. See by the
paper today that an increased tax on the articles is
reported. Manufactured 40¢ per pound- all cigars 1/10 ¢?
per lb.- Smoking is very expensive. I have settled
down to briarwood pipe and rather like it.

We are now pleasantly located in the city with
Hatty; friend? Aunt May; she is very kind and
accommodating, and I find walking from the office to
No 11 Hn'dson St, much more agreeable than three
or four hours ride in an omnibus between Dorchester
& Boston.

The Peace conference has proved a failure and
I think we shall have some hard fighting before
this horrid war is over. I hope Gen^l Sherman
will knock Charleston into "Smithereans" before
leaving that part of the country.
(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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Edward Dammers wrote this familiar letter to George Fuller two months before the end of the Civil War. The main point of the letter was simple communication, largely sharing personal and agricultural news. Dammers lamented that the "horrid war" was not yet over, but hoped it would end soon and that General Sherman "will knock Charleston into 'Smithereans.'" Mr. Dammers opened and closed his letter with a riddle playing on words; the first is in regards to the thirteenth amendment which at the time had been passed by Congress and was in the process of being ratified by the states.

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