A Memorial to Congress For the request of Lands to aid the construction of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad.

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A typed letter to Congress from Mississippi Secretary of State James D. Lynch. The letter is typed on discolored off-white paper with black ink. The text at the top reads [A MEMORIAL TO CONGRESS / For the request of Lands to aid the construction of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad.]. The letter addresses the need for a finished rail system in Mississippi, which by extension would improve the socio-economic status of the state. This letter references the first and second legislated charters of 1850 and 1856, respectively. The Mississippi Congressmen of the Reconstruction era are urged to support the “passage of an act revising the grant of land made to the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad in the year 1856.” There are several paragraphs of text below. The letter is dated December 6th, 1871, and is signed “James Lynch / Secretary of State”.

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