The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1863-01-16
From t..e rerre nau:e Express.

From tae erre Hau.e Express
The following interesting letter from one
Of our Vigo county boys was banded to US
some time ago and misaid. Which accounts
for delay in its publication. Ii is well worth
aperusal now. as the subjects upon which i,
mostly treats are Of The deepest interest:
HELENA, ARK, Oct. 18th. 1862,
DEAR FATHER: | have never written you
letter, and | take this evening 10 write
you a few lines. l have Just heard that
Voorhees, had beaten Harvey d. Scott. Well,
no wonder this war lasts so long. So long
as you people at hoEe suffer the southern
sympathizers to rule you, SO long the war
will last. The only hope Of the rebels now
is in their friends, in the heretofore loyal
States, getting power enough to block the
wheels Of Government 1t is dscouraging
to US soldiers, who have been enduring all
the hardships Of camp lie Tor eighteen
months, to find the people at home thinking
more OF parry hiumphs than they do Of
sustaining their government
Woe unto these rebel sympathetic politi.
cal partisans, when victory perches upon
our banner: when the rebellion is finally
crushed out, and peace once more restored
10 our distracted country. Let them re
member the fac Of the tories in revolu-
tionary times.
Judging from what can see Of the eff
fects OF war upon the institution of human
slavery, l have come TO tie conclusion that
its doom is sealed, and the day is rot far
distant when our free and enlightened citi-
zsns will look back with wonder and aston
ishment, that ever its baneiul existence had
been tolerated at all in a professedly free
and republican government.
Freedom and Slavery! What a strange
perversion of ideas, to suppose that two
such opposite principles can exist harmo-
niously in the same Government. As well
might men expect TO serve God and Nam.
mon. and receive the rewards Of both.
went through the three months service
to uphold the ole flag, aud put down re.
bellion, with no thought about slavery;
re-ensted for the three years service under
the same feelings, but l have seen enough
Of slavery, enough OF its blighting and
whitening influence upon all classes of So
ciety, and upon all material interests. TO
satisfy me that il comprises within itself the
sum total OF all human villainies, and now
that it has raised lis assassin hands 10 stsikc
down the best government on earth. lie, it
perish. If peace should bc patched up
with this canker spot still fostering at the
nations heart, but a short time would
elapse until we should have all our battles
TO fight over again. Let us make sure
work Of it now. and leave peace and free
dom to those who are TO come after us.
All the able bodied white men through
out this country are in the rebel army, or
roaming up and down the country in guer.
rilla parties, numbering our pickets and
plundering generally. The women aud
children left will have to starve this winter
unless the Government feeds them, which
II will have to do for we can't see women
aud children suffer. even though their hus
bands and sons and brothers are rebels, and
lighting against US with the malignity of so
many fends.
We are expecting an attack here from
the butternut army; you may be sure of
good report from the Eierenth for it is one
OF the best drilled regiments in the service.
Tell Me that l was sorry l could
not give him and the rest of the Black Re-
publicans a vote, but | was fighting for
them and for our Government. which was
the best l was able TO do under the crcum-
stances.
want i. particularly understood that |
am fighting for free Government, and that
l shall rejoice when the last shackle falls
from the limbs Of the last slave. When we
stop fighting want peace and not hollow
truce patched up by politicians.
Write soon, and give me all the news
Letters from home are the best comforters
we poor soldiers can get in this God ac-
cursed region.
l remain as ever,
Your Atfectionste Son.