It has often been asked what became of the great seal of the Confederacy and where is the instrument at present? When the Con federate government was forced from Rich mond, causing the surrender of the Confederate soldiers, many of the southerners seized what few government tokens were available and speedily withdrew to the surrounding country towns. Among the various tokens captured was the great seal of the Confederacy. One of the clerks of the State department seized it and disappeared. For a time rumor had it that the seal bearer, fearing longer to carry and hide the great treasure, threw it into a well and made his escape. This rumor possesses no truth. The following letter from Col. John T. Pickett of Confederate fame attests: aAt con siderable trouble and expense I have been so fortunate as to rescue this interesting memorial (the seal of the confederacy) from oblivion and possibly a vanda}ic melting pot. It is of pure silver and weighs several pounds.° Theodore J. Pickett, Esq., son of the famous southern colonel, Pickett, writes that he is in possession of the original correspondence between his father and those who had the seal. He has done much to preserve the history of this relic. His father shortly before his death contributed it to the War Department at Washington, D. C. The following letter from the Secretary of War will be of interest: "The archives of the Con federate government form perhaps the most in teresting set of historical relics in the posses sion of the government. They were at Rich mond and gotten elsewhere and handed over to the War Department at Washington. They
have been carefully arranged, and are now packed away from view in two or three rooms of the big war, navy and state buildings. They are never shown to visitors, and the greatest care is taken in regard to them. Among these relics is the seal of the Confederate States of America." Before the seal was yielded to final depository a few electrotype copies were made in silver, and the illustration in this ar ticle is produced from one of these certified electros now in the writer's possession. Though the use and purpose of this artistic device was ephemeral, its emblems and motto are of a character in fullest accord and harmony with the true spirit of the great nation born at In dependence Hall, Philadelphia; the equestrian figure of Washington signifies much to the citizens of this republic, and the motto, "Deo Vindice," should inspire all sections of our country to have a deep and abiding faith in the government represented by the Stars and Stripes.
The Department of State of the Confederacy also had a seal. It consisted of a shield crossed or quartered by a Saint Andrews' or Saltier cross, blue upon which were blazoned nine stars (argent). The top quarter had a ship for commerce; the dexter quarter, cotton; the sinister quarter, tobacco, and the base quarter, corn. The crest was a rising sun with a glory, above which the words "Department of State," appeared. Below the shield the Latin words: "Nulla Patnia Amiotm Fide" and beneath this motto in large letters °Confederate States of America."