E. W. Morris, a soldier in the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War, in a letter to John B. Minor references the fifteen hand law. This law was designed to allow farmers who owned fifteen or more slaves with no male heir to maintain his farm to be exempt from military service (Blair, p. 5). The fifteen Hand law was one of several acts relating to conscription in the Confederacy during the Civil War. The original law was the twenty Negro law, which followed the same structure as the fifteen Hand law with the exception of the number of slaves and growing food for the state (Blair, p. 104). The reason for the decrease in the number of slaves was a result of increased tensions and food shortages in the Confederacy. Morris also reflects on the current state of Virginia, “I suppose your noble institution is drooping as everything else seems to be in our beloved Virginia.” (Morris, p. 3). Here Morris gives insight into the current state of the Confederacy. In December of 1864 the Confederacy began to show signs of losing the War. The remarks Morris makes here confirm that observation.

E. W. Morris, however, was concerned with his son’s admission to UVa. The Fifteen Hand law was how he intended to pay for his son to attend UVa should he be accepted. Part of the exemption in this law was that a portion of the food grown would be given to the state. The excess food  Morris most likely complied with this segment of the law as he indicates he was willing to pay for his son’s attendance in “Flour, Bacon & other provisions” (Morris, p. 1). Morris wants his son to attend the University of Virginia under ‘the charge’ of John B. Minor, however, he remarked on the dark times facing Virginia and as a result the Confederacy.

The state of Virginia appears to be a major concern of Morris as with many other Virginians at this time. Many people, like Morris, hoped the War would be going in their favor and not the Union’s (Blair, p. 104). The shortage of supplies and troops, however, made victory seem almost a fantasy, which concerns Morris as well as John B. Minor.