Summary:
Confederate Secretary of War Judah P. Benjamin writes Staunton Attorney Hugh Sheffey regarding an October, 1861, request for letters of marque for privateering on the Ohio River. Benjamin informs Sheffey that privateering is only legal on the high seas.

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H. W. SHEFFEY, Esq.,
Staunton, Va.:

Richmond,

October 6, 1861.

SIR:

In reply to your letter of October 1 in regard to the project of Mr. Crawford and other "bold and daring spirits," I can only say that privateering is of necessity, by the laws of Congress as well as of nations, confined to the high seas, and this service is, moreover, not under the charge of this Department.

Respectfully,

J. P. BENJAMIN,
Acting Secretary of War.

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Bibliographic Information : Letter Reproduced from The War of The Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 4, Volume 1, Serial No. 127, Pages 669, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.