States or beneficial to their enemies, and shall not advocate or sustain either in private or public the cause of the so-called Confederate States, but shall bear true faith, allegiance and loyalty to the Government of the United States or America, any ordinance, resolution, law of any State convention or Legislature to the contrary notwithstanding, then this obligation to be void, else to remain in full force and virtue.

-----

-----

. [SEAL.]

-----

-----

. [SEAL.]

Signed, sealed and acknowledged before me, the security being first qualified as to his sufficiency.

Date.

[SEAL.]

------

------

,

Commissioner.

PHILADELPHIA, June 28, 1862.

Honorable EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War.

SIR: May I be allowed to say a few words to you on a subject which interests me very much. My husband, who is Captain Francis J. Keffer, had the command of Company H, First California Regiment, under the late Colonel E. D. Baker, and was taken prisoner at Ball's Bluff October 21, now held hostage for a privateer of the Savannah. I think he is confined in the jail with six other officers, or rather speaking, a place where rats inhabit the room, and damp, too, but he does not complain to me, but this I know to be a fact and I expected when Mr. Ely came he would try to do something, and I hope he will use all the means in his power to have every prisoner released. Cannot anything be done to have all the prisoners released at once? Does it acknowledge the Southern Confederacy any more to have a large number released than a small number? Will you let me know if I shall write to the Tombs and ask if there is any one there that they would exchange for my husband, or must I not do it? If I do not interest myself for him who will do it? Sir, can you blame me? He writes to me and says: "If the privateers are hung we will be dealt with in the same way, and if they are cleared we will be the same. " Now of course I am unhappy. I have written twice to Secretary Cameron and to President Lincoln and to Mr. Ely and to Fort Warren, but it does seem that none have answered but the one at Fort Warren, and the commanding officer tells me that the South will not give one up for any other than a privateer, but this does not satisfy a woman. May I write to the mayor of New York on this subject? I will do whatever you think proper. If you can send me a few lines I will be very thankful for it. I also made application for his pay for September and October, but Mr. R. P. Dodge sent me $173. 20 for that time, which if I know anything about it was not correct. I then made application for November's pay in this month and for f money paid to me and my papers were sent to me to sign for $133, but I have not signed them for I do not quite understand them, and if you think there is any chance of my husband coming home shortly I will try and do without his money and let him get it himself. I have sent him $35 and clothing and some food, and I hope they will let him have all I have sent to make him comfortable. Now, sir, I am afraid I have written too much. You will please excuse me for so doing.

Your humble servant,

MRS. ADALINE KEFFER,

Numbers 613 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia.