We the undersigned commissioned officers

aunt minerva collection
civil war letter
very faded, ink smudged,much copied, runs off the edge of page and hard to read...so ......will put (?) after the ones I guessed at and ________ for what I can't even guess at...all mistakes are mine, of course...


are printers(?) on Board of Inquiry(?) to examine (scratched out) report the state of a Bbl. of molasses in the possessions of Capt. Edward __________ ASC 40 Va Regt do certify on honor that our Barrel lasses was afraid (ink smudge) ____ fallons(?) ver
Quart says Barrel ______ invoice abt 6 fallo
Camp at Packs Fray (?) ink smudge10th 186
(signed) Lt Stewart Co E 45 Regt
(signed) Lt James C Maxwell Co A 45 Reg
(signed) Capt James Peery Co G 45 Va Regt



so, did they think someone stole their molasses? enlisted men or another unit or vagrants or hungry families in the area of their camp? or the wrong camp got their molasses? or were they trading molasses? or were they accused of losing the molasses? I'll probably never know...