Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1863-08-28
The Retaliation Case-Another Letter
From Sawyer.


The following letter from Captain Saws
yer, now under sentence Of death in the
Libby 70 Mr Joseph s Leach, Of Cape
May n. J. is published il he. Baltimore
LIBBY pRIsos, lleHNoSD, Va
Augusf 20, 1868
My Dear Friend: You must have heard
OF my solemn condition before this time,
but uotwithst ndipg. willgive you the par.
ticulars. WAS severely wounded and taken
prisoner on the 9th OF June, near Brandy
Station. Virginia. and arrived in Richm ond
on the 18th of June
The Confederate Government claims that
Burnside has executed two of Their officers
for rect uiting in Kentucky, Of which know
nothing, nor Of the circumstances attending
them
On the 9Th Of July ali The Union Can.
fslns now prisoners dreg lots for two 10 be
executed III setatlattoa. and il tell on me
{pis-,'lst lais y my present situation aud
you q { 'li,s1siiis my feelings upon SO serious
JdttoT Ill
| have been upon many hard fought fields
OF battle, where death seemed to stare me-
IN the face; but. sir, all that is nothing to
compare with what Iexperlence every hour
1t is great Inconvenience to which prison
ers OF war are in all cases subjected to have
their letters inspected, but this Is the rule
10 all countries a third person, cold
blooded at best, if not what is worse, with
an inclination to hold up to ridicule the ex~
preston of grief or affection, is permi tied
to have the review of a man's heart toward
a beloved wife and children. dear old
mother or friend The correspondence loses
ITS value, and forces me to keep within
bounds Of discreet caution.
cannot in justice complain of those who
have ne in charge Gen. Winder. militia.
ry commander at Richmond, has treated me
with great consideration Capt. Turner.
commanding the prison, has treated me with
courtesy and feeling; also the rest of the Off
GERS with whom have come in contact have
all treated me with uniform kindness. And
let me here say that, should the fortunes Of
war smile upon me in this my seyerest hour
of trial, and compromise this matter between
the two Governments, (for | have nothing
whatever to do with it, should ever be il
q position to return this act Of Kindness to-
wards me, | should feel myself under obli-
cations to do it.
| have strong hopes, and shall hope to
the last, although it may be in vain; but ]
non thYnE met Mo- X r
the offences committed in different depart
ment than the one in which | served. nor
is their least similarity between those two
cases.
l received letter from my dear wife
Truly it is enough to kill her, and my two
who are both old enough to real
ize my situation, and all the rest of our
family. It is hard thus to part with all Of
them
| have only the consolation that ills not
through anything | have done, or anything
thatl could eYade doing, to bring this Sc
we're affection upon my family Again,
say, | have strong hopes yet tkat the bitter
cup may pass frenl me- bat il viii always
be a lesson 10 life Should | get al IT,
But you must not understand me that am
broken hearted with my trial. Nay, | am
resigned to anything that God in His mer-
cy may put upon me. | feel that I have
done nothing wrong nothing more than
my duty toward my country, my God. and
friends, in the honr of my countrys trial.
| have stood by her to preserve her noble
rank among nations. and to prepetuate her;
noble institutions to the inheritance of nv
children ~
My dear friends, should suffer death,
look to my children. By law ny family
will be entitled to one-half Of my actual pay
which will De thirty sig dollars per mouth.
See to them. and let friend Magonagle
know all about me. and the rest of my
friends
Will you send this letter, or its copy. to
john T. Nixon and. John F. Starr, to Gu
list them in my case to procure for my wife
and children their just due? Hoping you
are all we'll. [ remain yours truly.
HENRY w SAWYER
Captain LIST New Jersey Cavalry.
E1 This is the time for gathering the
Confederate taxes. They will fall pretty
heavily, particularly on the rich We learn
that it will yield largely more than was the
estimate This is indeed, matter Of rejoic-
ing Some may be disposed to complain
They may carefully cipher out the amount
Of their taxes, and then exclaim against the
figures We are pie .scd to say. however.
that there is a. general satisfaction. Men
know thatif they pay a large tax the coun-
try gets it all, and it goes to support tie ar
my. And there is another thing they should
remember: Every dollar which is paid in
to the Treasury diminishes the circulation
to that extent, md makes money that much
more valuable. If each holder Of money
were to pay 10 one half the amount he has,
if there is any tru:!: in Gsures. he would be
none the poorer for it; for The ..als Fiat re-
manned would buy as much as the Msso!a
would have done Then let US submit cheer
fully to our taxes, If they fall largely on
the merchant. let him remember that the
old Government collected nearly allits rev
enues by tariff on goods; that is to say,
by tax on the merchants. They saved
themselves by marking their goods higher
If the farmers tenth in kind figures up We
ry high, let him see that it is because he
holds his produce high. And so of others.
And let everybody contribute as much as
possible to keep do,0n prices. Depend upon
it is to the interest of all. Force the Gov
: : Z r IL