Letter, 7 February 1837, penned by longtime Charleston postmaster Alfred Huger (1788–1872) to Postmaster General Amos Kendall, [Washington, D.C.], details curious circumstances surrounding the temporary loss of mail keys at the Charleston post office.

Huger explains that no postal employees were under suspicion of wrongdoing and that the mail had not been delayed since there were duplicate keys, and expressing his belief that the missing keys had been misplaced and would be found. Addendum penned on extra sheet, 8 February 1837, notes briefly that the keys had been found and "had been mislaid."

Huger was a South Carolina State Senator and public official, of Charleston, S.C. Educated at Princeton University, he returned to Charleston to study law, which he abandoned to take charge of his Cooper River plantation. Huger opposed nullification, and served as postmaster of Charleston during the antebellum era, acting in this capacity from 19 Dec. 1834 through the end of the Civil War. Offered to resume this post by President Andrew Johnson, Huger rejected the offer as he was unwilling to take the "iron-clad oath." Huger was married to Sarah Ann Rutledge.