First, to sum up the history of the “masters” of the Hampton Estate, 15 miles north of Baltimore, (now a National Monument):

In colonial days, former ship’s Captain Charles Ridgely owned vast farms and plantations, cultivated crops, bred livestock and thoroughbred horses and operated mills and quarries. Profits from his ironworks (and that of his wife’s father) during the Revolutionary War, and from confiscated Loyalist properties, funded the building of a grand mansion on the family’s Hampton Estate – the largest private home in America in the first decade of Independence.  When he died childless in 1790, his nephew Charles inherited Hampton, eventually owning more than 25,000 acres of land in northern Maryland – and over 300 slaves. He was also the three-term Governor of Maryland at the start of the 19^th century.  In 1829, his son John – apparently the addressee of this letter – inherited the Estate; but, by that time, it was reduced to a “courtesy entail” of 4500 acres, and the third “master” of Hampton had no interest in either financial empire-building or political prominence, confining his interests to breeding his horses. However, his second wife, Eliza Eichelberger Ridgely was “rich, beautiful, well-educated and an international traveler with sophisticated taste” as well as a horticulturist who made numerous improvements to the gardens and grounds of Hampton. Their daughter, Eliza, known as “Didy”, to whom this letter was written, was a “brilliant, well-educated and strong-minded woman who spoke several languages.” She married her first husband two years after returning from het long European sojourn, but he died of tuberculosis four years after their marriage. After more than a decade of widowhood, she married a Doctor during the Civil War, both of them being such “ardent Confederate sympathizers” that they spent much of their life living in Europe, while their son became Hampton’s fourth “master” and assumed responsibility for managing the Estate, (though he too often traveled in Europe, dying prematurely in Rome in 1872).

The writer of this letter was apparently John Ridgely’s sister, married into the Howard family (one of her in-laws being the Mexican War swashbuckler cynically mentioned in the letter, with a hint that he was Catholic). She had been left behind while the family was in Europe for two years, this letter indicating that she kept a watchful eye on Hampton and the other family properties, and was a fount of gossip, both of the Ridgely family, and of what she calls “the fashionable world”. The letter is full of such chit-chat, in sentences closely run together without punctuation. Ridgely had rented his townhouse (not, of course Hampton, his country seat) for $1000 a year. Someone else had leased his “servants” (i.e. slaves) with whose “conduct” they were “much pleased.” One of their neighbors had sold his house for $12,000, considered “a good bargain”. There are no other mentions of slaves – the word does not even appear in the text – but there are many references to other Baltimore and New York grandees, including one wealthy acquaintance who had also left for Europe without the decency to ask if there was any small favor he might do for Aunt Julia when meeting the Ridgelys in London or Paris.

The one significant comment in the letter concerns the writer’s view of the Mexican-American War, which has just ended in American victory [punctuation added]:

“…. I often think how much pleasure you and Charley [Didi’s brother] would derive from our account from the seat of War, it is most exciting to read, every paper is filled with General Taylor’s great and Glorious Victories, particularly the last Buena Vista which everybody, loco [Locofoco Democrats] and wigs acknowledge to be decided by the greatest ever obtained and Genl Scott has been most successful and gained much renown by taken Vera Cruz and the Castle of San Juan de Neva but Taylor’s I believe is considered the greatest as he fought with such fearful odds, 4000 to Santa Anna 20,000; we had a very splendid illumination in honor of our brave men…it was truly a most grand and elegant affair. Barnums seems to be in one Blaze of light, the Exchange was equally magnificent, the private houses were dazzling and beautiful, I wished for you all as you would have been so much gratified, walking about. What do you think of J.E. Howards great turn out, he collected about 90 men [“voltigeurs”] and sailed for Mexico, he has arrived at New Orleans a week ago and now at the seat of war he is a brave loco and the only one I have heard that has acted so independently, he was determined to get out of petticoat government, as I am told his Mother was much enraged, however he consoled her by making his will and leaving her every thing which will no doubt be given to the Priest [an anti-Catholic reference?] he had better given it to some of his cousins…”