No 120 West 25^th St.
New York July 16, 1864.
F.W. Seward Esq.
My Dear Friend
You will please accept
my thanks for the volumes you sent
me. I would have written to you
sooner, had it not been for the raid,
which rendered the mail carriage
unsafe.
Glancing over the voluminous
correspondence, I was struck with
the vast quantity of labor which
your father gave in one year, and
with his calm readiness to deal
with ever-complicating diplomacy.
This year as the political affairs
between our Government and those
of England and France look as
knotty as they did in the preceding
years, your father still jogs on in
the same routine, with a peculiar

pleasure that none but a genuine
diplomatist can experience. Well,
my dear Sir, he, with God’s assistance
will continue to preserve the friendly
terms with the foreign nations, more
especially those which evidently
sympathize with the rebels. Gratifying
though the sinking of the Alabama,
a an British ship, with British guns,
ammunities and Sailors, was to us,
Semmes’ escape in the perfidious
yacht was provoking, and formed
a point of law—none of the easiest to
decide. No doubt it will be a
bone of contention between Mr Seward
and the English ministers.
The raid in Maryland was as
singular in conception as it was
bold and successful in execution, so
far as plunder was the object; but
it was, on the whole, a failure when
we saw its aim which was the
capture of Washington and Baltimore.

[ Th ] e greediness of the half famished
raiders made them respect the
wants of their stomach more than
Jeff Davis wants—the momentary
possession of the Federal Capitol, the
perpetual prestige of this exploit
and, as a consequence thereof, the
universal acknowledgement of their
independence by Europe. Fat oxen,
sheep, grunters, and chickens were by
far more magnetic than the iron
rails on the railroads, hence little
damage was rendered to their roads.
The time, spent by those worthy
fellows in appropriating to their own
pockets the hated Yankees Greenbacks
and watches, put the defences of
your City in trim order, and the
result:— when the rebels came
up to the scratch before Forts
Stevens and Massachusetts, they
found Old Scratch had played
his role to perfection. His role

being played to such perfection
as caused their discomfiture, their
heels were visible to the naked
eyes, even through the dust along
the roads leading to the Potomac.
I trust they will ere long be all
bagged by our troops.
I am going to Conn; on Monday,
to spend a few days in sketching
nature.
My respects to your father
and mother.
Yours, sincerely
Jno Carlin
Junee18^th. It appears that the
skedaddling raiders will be safe
in Gordonsville, with most of their
booty. Where is our hunter? Off
his trail?