Winchester daily bulletin. [volume] (Winchester, Tenn) 1863-1863, 1863-04-22
Sentiment Of Northern Soldiers
on the Negro Question,

written by q soldier and dated
| LAKE PRovlDENCE, La, March II.
, You wish to know about soldiers
turning Abolitionists as so9u us thov
get down here. Now, + will tell you
what ! know. The turning is al the
other way ! have asked more than
one regiment it they had any Abo.i.
tionists in their ranks, and / cot this
answer in every case, that they had
but one, and they were going to kill
him at the first opportunity, | havo
heard hundreds Of soldiers say that
they thought moro OF u Sccessionist
than an Aboitionist If old Coddiug
should make such Il. speech to tho sol
dicrs rs | have heard him make in
| Batavia, l will bet my life against five
cents that he would not make another
speech soon, if ever.
Before our regiment left Camp But
Ter they were going TO have niggers
to do everything for them. After we
got to Jackson, Tennessee, we soon
had about fifty in the regiment alto
Pether. Our company had, | think,
four. But what change has come
! over the spirits Of tho faithful, and
against poor Sambo The Niger has
played out. believe there arc yet
two left in this regiment. This com.
pany has none at all. Some regiments
will not allow a Niger in their camp.
You ought TO hear some Of the rail
splittors' lament because Douglas was
not elected President. As for my part,
| came into the service q good Demo
crat, and get q fresh baptism Of tIe
faith every day. So have become
about as Jealous and tanatical on that
rs old DR. Lord is on teuperAnce But
I cannot help it
We cannot get any papers now OK.
cept by mail, They stopped the Chi
cagO Times because ii would not keep
back the truth the Tribune is rather
stale and unpopular, and very few are
sold or bought.
Extrac, from private letter froms soldier, dated
CAMP Opposite YlCksnuRG. March
l2.--If | had thought, when [ enlist.
ed, that it was to free nigrer5--to
make slave Of mysclf--to march
through the mud twelve hundred miles,
while the Id black balloons, with
our old clothes On. mounted on good
horses, riding at their lei5arc, would be
respected more than the sick and weary
soldier, tainting at the road sidc--if
you think | would have come for that
! purpose, you can discard me.
But there is another sido to view.
Coming down and since we have been
here, | have seen enough Of abolition.
ism to astonish and disgust any man
with heart Since we left I!eIona, /
have seen no less than ten NEGROES lie
out in the open air, or on tho deck Of
n boat with scarcely rag on. | have
seen those niggers lay within sight OF
/ twenty thousand men, and some that
knew were the blaclicat kind Of
abolitionists, and die without q mouth.
full to eat and for the want Of draught
Of water. And those very mcn who
feel so for the blacks in bondage could
see those negroes die like dogs. Old
! Captain C is one Of them. | knew
| it so 7 stole orc of his blankets and
gave it to a. poor cuss to die in. Iasicd
one of them how he enjoyed freedom,
and if he did not wish himself back
home. His answer was, "Oh, Lor :.
Massa, if Tse homo | would not die so;
Massa Doctor would make me we'll"
/ What / have observed and expert.
enced, summed up, amounts to just
this: First, | have never seen q regu-
lar African that could take care of
himself Secondly, it is for u planters
interest to feed, clothe and use his
slaves VOL. They live as comfortably .
and as we'll as our hard-worIting men
in the North, and one white man will
actually do more work than four ne.
groes. We are fighting TO mako these
negroes miserable. We arc taking
:acrr rom o"n hcda Rri r'ert fFcod