The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1864-12-07

OF Sanitary Fairs is apparently not yet
Hence forever lot simple justice be done.
Better no, publish at all than to do it inss
correctly" ~
Letter from Merwin.
The following letter relieves US and Ms
many McGregor friends from apprehension.
1t is not written us for publication, but
there is piquancy and good sense about
it that compels us to give it to the typos:
It will be read here with much interest
We mark out such portions as reer to mat.
tiers strictly personal:
WILLtAMBUEG, Va, Nov. 81, 1864.
Colonel You ask where is MEgwiN?"
Not having heard from him lately, YOU fear
he is dead! Not entirely. He may have
been out Of his senses (Which is not un-
common) and silent for some time (Which
is a gerry uncommon thing but D-ath the
great commander, has not relieved him
from service no more than have the people
Of the United States relieved the Presi
dent
have re enlisted for three years; have
been north on veteran furlough for some 30
days; came near going to McGregor, the
only thing preventing was the build of my
furlough; it would not stretch So far, and
there was no remedy, as did not have the
,llctation Of it while building. But saw
two McGrrg,r men wandering eastward by
the name Of Powers and CARTER; they
were in search Of fruit. Meeting them did
me good.
My reasons for re.enlsting are very good
ones, but may be greatly sold. TO com.
mence with: | first enlisted to fill up an
old organization with the understanding
that had only the unexpired term of the
old organization to serve. This found to
be swindlc: where it originated is mere
than l have Leen able to find out. The
| Government says they never issued any
| authority for any such cnlistments, and yet
the whole press of the country was full Of
representations of that kind: you, as a
newspaper editor, know this to be So
A gain, the Government shifts it TO the
shoulders of recruiting officers by saying
that it was a subterfugc used by them to
procure ready enhs.ments in said old Reg
ments. But the Government in acknawl.
edging this has no power to punish often.
ders No Sir! The man that invented
this most mechanical decp.laid sub:crfuge,
and thereby obtained the greatest number
of recruits, received the heariest strap in
lieu Of services rendered Well, | found
myself swindIcd, and to make the most OF
a bad bargain l re enlisted, thinking for
sure the war will end before NY original
time will expire. The leading inducements
the same as usual. a large bounty and a
Through long enough to go home and spend
it, but not SO here | went home but not
entirely through the bounty. It the war
lasts longer than year from Sept. last, |
am victim the second time, but it will he
the result Of my own miScalculation. I'll
not have it to charge to others.
The Cause of my not writing to you is
that | had ben very much engaged for
some time before re cnl,sting: We wsr.
kept pretty busy at Buffers Headquarters
Tn, n came on the excitement of re-erllst
ing, preparing fer our journey northward
the novelty and pleasure Of thirty days al
home among old friends and acquaintancrs
school campaEions and lovers. The hills
dells and glades, the haunts aud scenery oil
| youthful days was revisited and Travelled
Ger agin. Then my re;reating movement
how iuIl Of doubtful spccua'l"ns as took
the backward track. All the horrors OF
civil war crossed the transit of my vision
| saw in imagination, scenes had just fl
hundreds of distorted victims, blackencd
bloody->hot, lying in the scorchlng sun
where they had fell saw the hospital
with it's acres of maneled wretches waiting
their tn,n at the SUI ge"n's bench, many o
them gasping life away without comfort o,
ait. nnon. / saw the cracking flames as
they swept with devastating Ire ,th the
country Der. Is,v the smouldering ruins
with little way off the grouping family
silently We Ping. Rcv,rics OF ibis kind
were only broken by the whistle of the
engine as she approached some station.
When | arrived at New York intended
to have written to you, but the noise was
too great. l beat about the city some ten
days in search Of place where one could
sit down quietly and call together few
random thoughts for the purpose Of remit.
ting them through the p. .. department
towards sui Let but thoughts, reason and
everything else were too much ON the
prom, .uide'' to be caught enDelloped. -
Tine waits for no man; IT 1t did nv iur
Tough would never have expired. We arr
all The while bidding gomi-by to passing
pleasures and accepting greater ones. ),
We thought as we stepped into one Of Uncle
Sans cradles Ga transport) and rocked
away to City Point. Here were transferred
aboard a craft known as the Buffalo and
started for Richmond, arriving ut the east
. crn extremity Of Buffers canal. We found
twas not completed, owing to the careless
} way the rebels deposited their ammunition
there. The natural route was too ia,
around and too much INSTRUCTED, therefore
we lit on Chapin's farm and toe-graboed il
to the front Finding our horses were yet al
Bermuda Hundred, We reversed action
, sweated and steamed back to that point. -
During our absence troop had been sem
to this place. Here we came and here WI
are in winter quarters and very comfortable
, if allowed to remain. AU zoe paat 7ao,o 1.
, to be let alone, and we will work out GU,
own salvation. But If they disturb US ant
5 crowd US too far to the front, some one may
get hurt.
!, In addition to our regular picket duty
/ We have had one scout OUT abou; % miles
was fired on by guerrillas; Second Lieut.
5 wounded in the hip, not seriously lost on
: man by struggling; he imbbed too mnci
Of the rebel spirit called Apple Jack; il
e consequence became as Lot was in tn
. presence Of his daughters; he stopped at
!. house, where his horse broke away flon
/ him and joined the column. Shortly after
e wards he was seized by TWO OF the ch,valr