Dear Miss Carroll: I did not receive your polite note and the pamphlet in relation to your claim till this morning. The statement of your case is very strong, both as to the clear proof of "value received" from you by the Government, and on which was founded its promise to pay, and as to the favorable opinions of your literary and military services expressed by leading men. I know of no instance in which a woman not born to sovereign sway has done so much to avert the impending ruin of her country, and that not by cheap valor, like Joan of Arc, but by rare mental ability. As a Marylander, I am proud that the "Old Maryland line" was so worthily represented by you in the struggle for the Union. You would have had your substantial reward long ago but for the very absurd opinion that by some fixed, mysterious law of nature the labor done by women is worth less than precisely similar work done by men. You should persist in your just claim, if only to establish the principle that the value of work should be estimated according to its merits and not with reference to the worker; but, whatever may be the fate of your demand on the Government, you cannot fail to receive the thanks of the people. Very respectfully, SAM'L T. WILLIAMS. * * * * * PRINCESS ANNE, Md., _August 22, 1874_. My Dear Miss Carroll: I have read with interest and gratification the publication respecting your claim now pending before Congress. I well remember that you were an earnest supporter of the Union in the hour of its trial, and that you did much by word and pen to encourage and sustain those who battled against the rebellion, and for such services you are entitled to high consideration and reward. The proofs adduced are very full and direct. I don't see how its payment can be resisted without impeaching the evidence of Mr. Scott, the late Assistant Secretary of War, and of Judge Wade, Chairman of the Committee on the Conduct of War--an alternative which their official and personal characters forbid, even in cases where their personal interests were involved. With, my best wishes, I have the honor to be very truly yours, &c., J. W. CRISFIELD.[19] [Footnote 19: J. W. Crisfield was a Representative from Maryland during the war.] * * * * * CUMBERLAND, Md., _August 25, 1874_. My Dear Miss Carroll: