A Third Letter From Jackson, Tennessee
Title
A Third Letter From Jackson, Tennessee
Subject
William observes that Confederate guerrillas, as well as an order of General Ulysses Grant, are to execute soldiers caught as deserters. He also describes desertion as so dishonorable that it would embarrass his children.
Creator
William Standard
Source
William M. Standard Papers
Publisher
Atlanta History Center
Date
March 9, 1863
Format
PDF
Language
English
Type
Digitized Manuscript
Identifier
March 9, 1863 letter from Jackson, Tennessee
Coverage
American Civil War, 1861-1865
Text
Camp Reed Jackson Tennessee March 9 1863
Dear Jane
I am truly sorry that I can’t send you some money to help you pay for little Hattie’s tombstones, but it is impossible for me to do it at this time. I thought they would have been nice ones for the price he charged for them. Put the stones in a good secure place where they will not get broke and I will help to set them up when I come home. I want it done in good style and made durable as that seems to be the last respect our own well beloved little Hattie. Thanks be to the God of mercy her little spirit rests in peace. Let us so live as to meet her in the heaven of bliss.
Dear Jane I have written so often to you about trying to get home. It is a little dangerous for anyone to go out of the line to get a parole, for they run the risk of being shot while running by the pickets to get to the country, and then again Gen. Grant has issued an order that any soldier who straggles off outside the lines shall be treated as a deserter and treated as such which penalty is death. Captain Hull of the 17th Regiment is on the lookout for the two Hill boys and Burt Lewis too; they are all deserters and run off to keep from going down to Vicksburg. I won’t never desert. I don’t want anyone to have the privilege of casting into the face of my children that their father was a deserter. I do want to get home but I want to come honorable, so that I can have it said that I done my duty to myself and family, my country and my God.
Dear Jane
I am truly sorry that I can’t send you some money to help you pay for little Hattie’s tombstones, but it is impossible for me to do it at this time. I thought they would have been nice ones for the price he charged for them. Put the stones in a good secure place where they will not get broke and I will help to set them up when I come home. I want it done in good style and made durable as that seems to be the last respect our own well beloved little Hattie. Thanks be to the God of mercy her little spirit rests in peace. Let us so live as to meet her in the heaven of bliss.
Dear Jane I have written so often to you about trying to get home. It is a little dangerous for anyone to go out of the line to get a parole, for they run the risk of being shot while running by the pickets to get to the country, and then again Gen. Grant has issued an order that any soldier who straggles off outside the lines shall be treated as a deserter and treated as such which penalty is death. Captain Hull of the 17th Regiment is on the lookout for the two Hill boys and Burt Lewis too; they are all deserters and run off to keep from going down to Vicksburg. I won’t never desert. I don’t want anyone to have the privilege of casting into the face of my children that their father was a deserter. I do want to get home but I want to come honorable, so that I can have it said that I done my duty to myself and family, my country and my God.
Original Format
Paper
Files
Collection
Citation
William Standard, “A Third Letter From Jackson, Tennessee,” A Yankee Soldier's Struggle With The Union Cause , accessed May 18, 2024, https://timroberts.org/civwarletters/items/show/4.