Alluding to the loss of slave property, Gov. Letcher speaks as follows: “The loss to the citizens of Virginia in the item of slave property alone far exceeds the loss from the destruction of cotton or any other species of property during the war. Counties in Virginia have been overrun, containing an aggregate slave population of 80,728 by the late census, and which at a moderate valuation, is worth, in round numbers, $45,000,000. Such a loss should not be permitted to fall upon a people, if it can by any proper means be prevented.”
Alexandria Gazette, Alexandria, VA