Part 48

Headquarters, Middle Department, 8th Army Corps. Baltimore, Mch. 12, 1865.

Special Order No. 44.

Lieut. H. B. Smith, 5th N. Y. Arty., and Commanding Detective Corps, 8th Army Corps, with one man of his force, will proceed to New York City, arrest a certain man, and return to these headquarters without delay, with his assistant and prisoner.

Quartermaster's Department will furnish transportation.

By command of Bvt. Brigadier General W. W. Morris.

WM. H. WIEGEL, Major & Actg. Provost Marshal.

The cause for this trip will be explained by the following copy of a letter, and a contract.

New York, Mch. 10, 1865.

Dear Manahan:

It is said Fredericksburg and tobacco is captured. I feared this.

Have written to Maddox and sent him a copy of contract. I enclose yours.

Now it is for you to go to work at once and see that this property is taken care of. I believe you will both do it; see to it that no innocent parties suffer. Act promptly, for I assured my friends that the property was safe at that point, and I did it on your representations. Let me hear from you, care of Burnett & Funkhouser, this city.

Yours truly, M. E. MARTIN.

Baltimore, Md., Dec. 8th, 1864.

I hereby agree to deliver to Mess. Maddox & Manahan, during the month of Feby. and March, 1865, at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on the Rappahannock River, Four Thousand Boxes (4,000) of good sound merchantable tobacco, to be paid for on delivery, by my Agents at said point, in United States currency, at the rate of Forty-seven and a half (47½) Cents per pound.

Said tobacco to be of the quality known as good manufactured Virginia Leaf. I reserve to myself the privilege of increasing the quantity to 5,000 boxes, if I see proper.

(Signed) M. E. MARTIN.

Manahan was of the firm of J. F. Manahan & Co., No. 17 South Charles Street, Baltimore, Md. This letter, by mistake, fell into my hands on March 12th. It was necessary to act quickly in order to intercept communication twixt Martin and Manahan, and for that purpose I left Baltimore on the 12th, and had my man wire to Martin, as follows:

Baltimore, Md., Mch. 13, 1865.

M. E. Martin, c/o Burnett & Funkhouser, New York.

"Your letter here. Shaffer, my friend, will call to-day. Let me know the result by telegraph immediately."

MANAHAN, Maltby House.

I assumed that if Martin wanted to reach Manahan, he would address him at the Maltby House, the telegraph office there was in my possession.

I at the same time had myself wired to as follows:

Baltimore, Md., Mch. 13, 1865.

I. K. Shaffer, Merchants Hotel, New York.

"Call on Martin immediately, I have his letter of 10th."

Manahan, Maltby House.