Folded letter by US Navy Surgeon David Shelton Edwards
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This was the correct rate for a single sheet letter going a distance of 150-400 miles."}, {"label": "Description", "content": "This is the first letter following the reunion of David Shelton and his wife Harriet in Philadelphia. Edward responds to Harriet's reports that the family is getting sick and gives instructions that she is to give his brother and mother as much money as they ask for as long as she can afford it. He then gives her instructions on how to care for the family. He goes on to describe the garden of their new house in Washington, DC and asks how she normally pickles tomatoes. He closes this letter with a description of the nightly concerts given by the Marine Band for a crowd of visitors gathered on the steps and portico of the Capitol building."}, {"label": "Description", "content": "The United States Marine Band was created by an act of Congress in 1798 and performed regularly for Thomas Jefferson on the front lawn of the White House. Since then they have performed for every president and numerous foreign dignitaries and heads of state. During Edwards' time in Washington, their evening performances at the Capitol were a highlight for many of the District's residents. Today they continue the tradition with weekly summer performances at the Washington Monument, Capitol building, and Marine Barracks."}, {"label": "Description", "content": "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."}], "name": [{"label": "Writer", "content": "David Shelton Edwards, American, died 1874"}], "topic": [{"label": "Topic", "content": "American Expansion (1800-1860)"}, {"label": "Topic", "content": "Covers & Letters"}], "place": [{"label": "Place of Origin", "content": "District of Columbia"}, {"label": "Place of Destination", "content": "New York"}], "physicalDescription": [{"label": "Medium", "content": "paper; ink / handwritten"}, {"label": "Dimensions", "content": "39.4 x 24.8 cm (15 1/2 x 9 3/4 in.)"}], "dataSource": [{"label": "Data Source", "content": "National Postal Museum"}], "objectType": [{"label": "Type", "content": "Covers & Associated Letters"}]}}, "url": "edanmdm:npm_1978.0652.32", "hash": "265733ac74e89e20fbd003365cbc4c1f742ed41e", "docSignature": "27de65a04ceef76755356a4dee217e51", "timestamp": 1663786505, "lastTimeUpdated": 1657961588, "title": "Folded letter by US Navy Surgeon David Shelton Edwards"}