*Simulated letter with orginal text.

After surviving his tour of duty in the war with Mexico, John M. died of yellow fever in New Orleans.  It must have been quite a shock for Archibald to receive word that his son was dead by the way of a letter returned and written across the front, "On inquiry at Charity Hospital I learned that the person for whom this letter was intended is dead.” Archibald wrote the letter on May 10th and it took two weeks to reach New Orleans on May 24th. It likely took a few days to a week to track down what happened to John and then another two weeks for the letter to be returned to Archibald in South Carolina, so over a month later Archibald received word, although it possible the Army might have notified Archibald earlier which might have made Archibald feel even worse to see the simple statement on the returned envelope. The $50 dollars Archibald had sent his son would be worth almost $2,000 today.

J. Mixson listed as dead.
The Charleston Mercury, Jun, 9, 1949

Updated: 12-16-2025

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