LOT Alexander Autographs  /  Fine Selection of Autographs - Session 2  / 

779

(SLAVERY)

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:300.00 - 500.00 USD
(SLAVERY)
One of the most unusual disputes we have ever seen is contained in these records of a Texas court battle, 50pp. legal folio, Austin, Texas, May 1868. The case involved Ruben Loggins who agreed to lease a plantation with seven slaves owned by E.S. Buck for the sum of $1650. The contract came into dispute when Loggins refused to pay in 1863 and 1864. Although Mrs. Buck had already died, the executors of her estate chose to sue. In his defense, Loggins cited an agreement with Buck which stipulated "...that in case of a rupture and difficulty among the State of the United States and consequent hostilities and warlike relations by which the business relations of the country should be disturbed, that the contract...should be considered and declared annulled...". In other words, because the Civil War broke out, the contract was null and void. In his written statement to the court, Loggins argued that he faithfully cultivated the land for the first two years of the war, and that while doing so, his payment for the sale of the crops he grew was, not surprisingly, completely in Confederate money. Buck's estate had initially accepted Confederate currency for the lease. But at the end of 1863, as the value of Confederate currency plummeted, and no Confederate notes or payment in kind were accepted, placing Loggins in a very difficult position. Citing the fact that Confederate notes were the only currency available, Loggins argued that both the slaves and plantation were "valueless" to him. Further complicating the situation was the fact that Loggins lost three of the slaves: one died, one hired away, and the third drafted into Confederate service. Loggins was unsuccessful as the court ruled that since the agreement to annul the contract in case of war was verbal and without witnesses, the contract would stand. Loggins, now with very little money and little to lose, petitioned the Texas Supreme Court for an unlikely appeal. Regardless, this would have been little consolation for the administrators of the Buck estate, since there was little they could recover. Documents are bound with the original ribbon with paper seal, usual folds, first few pages beard heavy chipping but overall in very good condition.
Sign In to Bookmark Lot