[citation needed] Locke's fictional alter ego, Nasby, loudly champions the cause of the Confederate States of America from Secession onward, but does little to actively help it.

The Nasby Letters, although written in the semi-literate spelling used by other humorists of the time, were a sophisticated work of ironic fiction.

They were consciously intended to rally support for the Union cause; "Nasby" himself was portrayed as a thoroughly detestable character – a supreme opportunist, bigoted, work-shy, often half-drunk, and willing to say or do anything to get a Postmaster's job.

)[9] At the time the Letters were written, postmaster positions were political plums, offering a guaranteed federal salary for relatively undemanding work.

He settled in several different places, most notably "Confedrit X Roads, wich [sic] is in the Stait of Kentucky", a fictional town full of idle, whiskey-loving, scrounging ex-Confederates, and a few hard-working, decent folk, who by an amazing coincidence were all strong Republicans.

He traveled frequently, sometimes not entirely voluntarily (Nasby's habit of borrowing money he never repaid, and running up tabs at the local saloon often made him unpopular) and continued to comment on the issues of the day.