The letter featured here is written by Robert Terry in 1863 to his sister from his camp in Virginia whilst fighting in the American Civil War. After describing his life as a soldier and his desire to return home soon, he mentions the Russian fleet anchored in the Potomac River. The presence of a Russian fleet at this time illustrates the cordial relations between the U.S. and the Russian Empire in the build up to the U.S. purchase of Alaska in 1867.

The purchase of Alaska was a tactical and political purchase that resulted in the U.S. acquiring a state double the size of Texas, which was largely uninhabited and arguably unprofitable. Known by some as "Seward’s Folly", in reference to William Seward who orchestrated it, Alaska was not seen by most as a positive addition to the United States until the Klondike gold strike in 1896, as there were concerns over its economic and colonial potential and the issue of the Native Alaskans.

Bought for $7.2 million from the Russian empire, the agreement was the end of a long series of discussions beginning before, and interrupted by, the American Civil War. The Russian Empire had grown concerned over its American colony, due to the fact that the recent Crimean War, fought against the British, had highlighted the vulnerable and hard-to-defend position of the Alaskan area. Discussing the topic logically, it became clear that Alaska was an area that could prove hard to defend and easy to lose, consequently increasing the vulnerability of Russia itself, and that instead a potential monopoly of North America by the decidedly friendlier U.S. would serve the empire better. Consequently, the Russian government approached the U.S. with its proposal and, after a few years of discussions, the transaction was made and the transfer completed. Though limited profit was offered by the largely uninhabited area, America saw the purchase as a chance at weakening Britain’s hold on North America. Unfortunately, this attempt was ultimately fruitless with the completion of the Canadian Confederation a few months later, where the previously disjointed colonies of Canada joined together to become the federal Dominion of Canada on 1 July 1867, and the U.S. and Russian hope for a clear U.S. monopoly was thwarted. Nevertheless, the profitable seal fishery industry, a monopoly of which was enjoyed by the U.S. until the Bering Sea Arbitration in 1893, the Klondike gold strike in 1896 and energy and natural mineral developments meant that Alaska grew as an economically viable, and certainly beautiful, part of the United States.

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