Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1863-09-11

A SOLDIERS LETTER.

We are permitted to take the following
from private letter by Sergt. John J. Van
Orden, Co. B. 31st Iowa regiment, addressed
to Messrs. Stead & Huffman of this place:
My health has been pretty good on an av-
erage ever since left home; the Lord has
watched over me for good, and am thank.
full that he has been so mindful Of me, and SO
kind to me. have never yet regretted that
enlisted; that is not my way Of doing bu-
siness; thought the matter over very care
fully end seriously, and then enlisted from a
sense Of duty. Do you ask me if would
not like to see my familyf You have both
Of you got families of your own, and leave
you to answer the question The object for
which | enlisted is not yet accomplished, and
l am willing yet to be separated from my
family for my country's sake. am willing
yet to be deprived of the comforts and en-
joyments of home, for the sake Of assisting
in conquering peace which we can in no
other way establish. am willing yet to un-
dergo the fatigues Of the march, and expose
my life to the fire Of the enemy for the sake
Of establishing over every foot Of the social
ed Southern Confederacy the supremacy of
the laws Of the United States, and to plant
throughout all rebeldom that flag which
have sworn to defend When this is accom-.
plished, if l still live, and get an honorable
discharge from the service of my country, 1
will be only too happy to rejoin those from
whom l have been severed. May the Lord
hasten the time when peace shall again reign
throughout our now distracted country.
think the coming fall and winter campaign
will put an end to the unnatural conflict
Judging from what l can hear and see,
think when move is made, matters will be
pushed forward with celebrity that has not
heretofore characterized the movements of
the army, to secure a psacc-a lasting peace
"a peace that will be more firmly establish.
ed than heretofore. trust that you, and
when say you, do not only mean Mr.
Stead and Mr.. Huffman, but every man in the
North that has right to cast vote this fall,
will lay aside party and party politics, and
put in that vote. this once, untrammelcd by
party prejudice, for the " Union" I pledge
you my word that the soldiers vote will be
all that you could wish, and | conjure you
that have remained at home, to do all that
lies in your power to win over the erring
ones to sense of their duty. Oh how
blind-willfully blind they must be, not to see
the necessity of rushing the Union ticket
through this fall throughout the North,
with overwhelming majorities. And it can
be done, aye more,-it must be DONE Some
of these so called Copperheads are led astray,
talk to them try by every means in your
power to bring them back to sense of their
duty. Show to them the suicida! part they
are now playing, and that il they do their
duty as American citizens, and that if the
vote Of the North is cast as il should be this
fall,--for the Union,-the last hope of the
rebels is torn from them, and speedy peace
will be the consequence. If they can be
made to see this, and then refuse to do'their
duty, they are veritable copperhcads-mark
them the day of retribution to them will
surely come. They cannot exist and pros
per in free, enlightened America.
.. 0 en Sc.