Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1863-01-24
Our Army Correspondence
Ertracts Of Letters from various Soldiers

TO Tie Editor ofthe Columbia Democrai. i.
A private in the Army of the Potomac,
writing under date of January 13, 1863,
says:
What is this war turning toi cannot
re what it is turning to or what it means,
or when it is to end, When 1 enlisted in
the Army it was to fight for the Uuion,
aud to restore the Government, but in.
st ad Of that, it is for the Ncgro. l hops
that our authorities will speedily throw
Old Abe out Of the chair and put some
decent, honest President in his place. l
was humbugged into voting for him, bu
have voted my last Republican Ticket for
life, and will hereafter stand by the good
old ALAG of the DEMOCRACY" l have
been in the service some eighteen months,
and never had the privilege of visiting
my wife and home once, whilst the Ne
groes can have passes at any time to go
where they please. L would give fifty
dollars to be released from slavery.
Oae of the drafted Militia, dated I1th
Of January,-writes ::
The duty we have to- perform here
Yorktown-does not engage, all the lime,
and I should be glad to have the CoLUM.
BIA DEMOCRAT, TO peruse during leisure
moments. It would be a great abstraction.
DIR. Johns sheet comes to Camp, OCCASION
ally, but have not INDUCED in its peru.
sal, neither do I wish to. l prefer read
ing something more reliable. The Negro
,0ar is enough for white man without the
"Smut Machine"
An officer writing US from Belle Plains,
Va, under date of January sth, says: :
A few words in reference TO this Negro
War Of Old Abe Lincoln, and his patty
To have thorough understanding Of its
workings, you ought to spend few days
in the once happy, prosperous, but now
weak, dishcartened and demoralized Army
of the Potomac. In every Corps, Divis-
ion, Brigade and Regiment, officers are
rosigning and men deserting. 1 will in
stance one of the first Regiments io our
Division. The 90th.Pa., the old National
Guards, commanded by Col. VIM. A.
Leach, of Philadelphia, would ftho CON-
missions were accepted, be almost without
a commanding officer. The same may be
truthfully said of many other Regiments
The removal of Gen. Mcclellan d id the
work of the Army. Negroes are arriving
inside of our Army lines by the hundreds.
They are immedintely forwarded to Wash
ington City by Steamboats,. The differ
ence between Negro and Soldier, is
simply this A negro comes inside of our
lines and makes application for transport-
alton, he is accommodated in few min.
utes generally, whereas white Soldier,
although he may have been absent from
home and friends for near two years, is
refused permission to even visit Washing
ton Il Soyo see, that Negro here, is
considered much better than white man.
Another drafted man writing from
Yorktown, Va, says:
thank God, that from the way things
are shaping in the Army there will soon
be change. The officers are managing
to enrich themselves at the sacrifice of the
Union and the Constitution. No wonder
the soldiers are tired of the war; Most of
the officers have Negro walters, and then
let it be remembered, that our brave SOL
diers have to stand sentinel all night
around the Negro huts, to guard them in
their sweet repcSe, and then they are well
fed and clothed, whilst We have to buy our
own bread, in part, or live on short allow.
ance. Again--our wives and children at
home, are not half as we'll provided for as
are these friends OF Old Abe's, whom he
denominates "free American citizens of
African descent"
A soldier in the regular Army, near
Fredericksburg, says
Dear C0i0zieL-you will please send
your excellent paper, and as soon as We
are paid of, l will remit you the amount
of years subscription, l believe there
never was a period in our country, when
it was SO necessary to support and cireu-
ate Denocrats2 Newspapers as the pres
ent time. Such is the general opinion of
the soldiers. 1.-THE TRUTH is not kept be
fore the PEOPLE, this Administration will
ruin the country beyond redemption, if it
is not already doomed to rretrievablo de-
struetion.
nGS- "People fany color. seldom run
away. unless there is something to run