B. S. Hile Correspondence

The majority of the B. S. Hile letters were written to his wife, and a few were written to his son and daughter. The letters are dated from August 1861 to July 1862. In the earliest letter, Hile is still in New York preparing to travel to Cuba and he briefly discusses troop movement during the U.S. Civil War. After that, all of the letters are from Havana, Cuba. He discusses daily happenings and describes people, the land, disease, food, and drinks. He promises to send sugar, expressing amazement at its low price and availability. He discusses his employment at the Gas Works, which was part of Piena Del Ray Gas Co. He describes laying pipe underneath streets to connect to house lights and street lamps. He also discusses contracts for that type of work in Mexico. In earlier letters he discusses the possibility of his own business, possibly as a dry goods store owner. The letters provide information about life in Havana in the 1860s, from the perspective of an American living in Cuba. All of the letters have been transcribed.