Leonard M. Burford was a cotton planter of Lowndes County, Ala. The collection includes letters, bills, and receipts, chiefly relating to Burford and his relatives. A few items relate to the buying and selling of cotton through Mobile factors, while others document purchases of dry goods, books, and other items, chiefly through merchants in Mobile. There are several letters about family matters. There is also an 1863 letter from Maj. Sebert J. Smith, Confederate quartermaster at Chattanooga, Tenn., to Capt. Alexander McVay, quartermaster at Mobile, Ala., about the need for accurate written reports in order to make proper allocations for payment of troops.
