Click here for this soldier’s biography:
https://micivilwar.com/authors/wasson-john/
Regiment: 2nd Michigan Cavalry
Battles Mentioned: Vicksburg, Mississippi
Historical Figures:
Louisville Ky
Feb the 18 1863
Dear friends
I got two letter from you to day one dated
the 5th of Jan. the other the dated the 22 of December
I donot know the reason that it takes your letters so
long to reach me but it has been so far along time
I wrote you a fiew lines some time ago to let you
know that I was in the hospital and sick I am
a good deal better than I was then the feavor is broke
but the dirrhea is not entirely stoped yet I am so
as I can be up most of the time the dr allowed me
only to eate baked potatoes tost bread and tea
and no meet of any kind when I frist came here
but now he lets me have oyster soup and
chicken soup and eggs and apple sauce and
milk and crackers they have got any thing you
can think of here for the sick and I have got the best
of care all the time but it is an awful place an Hos-
pital after all when I came here there was about
700 here and they wer diing of at the rate of 7 and 8
evry day but they have sent of to Quincy Ill
all that wer able to go and they filled up there
places with wonded rebbels there is about 300 of
then here and it is sight to se these reched igno-
rant beings some of them with there arms shot of some
shot in the face some in the legs and in evry place
that you can think I just wish that you could
se them they ar a reched looking sight and then
they ar so nasty and dirty looking that you can
form no
[ ? ] of them atall you spoke of wish-
ing me to come home and that you would like
to have new years that with me all I can
say is that I would enjoy all this as well as you but
if you ever se me atall it will be in less than three
years for my word for it this wicked rebellion is not
going to last that long the rebbels ar agane puting there con-
scription act in force and bringing old men into the
field and yong boys and if france and England will
only stop there nois about Mediation the rebbels would
soon be obbliged to give up the ghast but I want to say
one thing and that is this that any man in the North
who has go any sympathy for the Southern Rebbels is
more than the worst of them and knowes nothing about the
princapal of this rebellion nor of the princapal upon
whitch it is carried on and I would rather fight them
for 10 years than to give one inch to them or make any
compermise with them other than unconditional surrender
as quick as we get Vickersburg and full possesion of the
Mississippi River then we can cut of there supplys from
texes and I tell you they will find themselves in a
more condition than ever tey wer before I think if we
do not have any more bad luck this spring that next
fall will se the end of the war for I think that they cannot
rais another army and unless they can they cannot keep
the field more than six months longer and a nother
thing slavery has receved its death blow and before
the effects of this war is over slavery will be a thing of
history past and gone and let me tell you that if wear
ar sucesful in this might struggle as I hope and
believe we will be it will be a victory that future
generations will hale with delight a victory of Republic
an free princapals over despatism a victory of deucat-
ion over ignorance I will now give you a little insight
into Southern Society it is the welthy classes that owne
the negroes the poor class owne nothing and the poor
of the Southern States ar in the worst condition of
any people that I know of they ar they most ignorant
and degraded of any people on the earth even on a level
with the negroes themselvs the more welthy class owne
the slaves and the land and they form what might
be called on arastocracy they controle all public
affairs and allso the publick opinion of the country
and then the soutern people leveing out the states
Del, Ky, Mo, Md, Western Vir, and North Car. ar
of french and Spanish decent and when we come
to take this fact into consideration it plainly
accounts for there secession they ar tired of liveing
under a republican form of government and wer
they to gain there Independence in this struggle
they would run right into a Monarchy for the
Southern people that is the masses of them ar to
to ignorant to live under a Republican form
of government and depend upon it this it the
intention of the Southern leeders in this Rebellion
had the masses of the Southern people been an
educated and enlighened people lik the Northern
people the Southern never could have got them
to engaged in this helish Rebellion to sum up
the whole matter ignorance has more to do with
this Rebellion than all other cousis combined and
there is another fact to whitch I wish to call your
attention and that is this the people of the Southern
ar most all Roman Catholics that is a large majority
of them ar in the Souther or gulf states ar nast
all this in a mesure accounts for there ignorance
you have my views on the war and I think that
they ar pretty nere correct at least what I have said
ar facts that can be proven and they ar well known
to evry boddy that has been the south ad has
taken pains to inform them selves as I have
don and study southern society and mannors
but I will say no more on this at present
I will give you an account of Roman Catholic
abby that I payed a viset to not long ago and
I will have something more to say about the
mannors and custom of Souther Society by and by
I got a letter from Thomas to day hes well the reg.
is now at Murfersboro Tenn he says that they
ar Mud bound and cannot move till there comes
some dry wether I have got no pay yet nor I do not
think I will now before the 15 of April government
is now oweing me 61 Dollars you wanted to know
how it was I got away from the Rebbels when Sam
any wer taken it was by haveing a good horse
evry one that did not have a good horse was
taken prisner they run us for six miles as
fast they could and evry one of us just put
our horses wer put right under the spur but
how it was that so fiew of got hurt is allmost a
mericle it was not because they did not shoot at
us there was two of the boys of my company came
to the Hospital the same time I did but they sent
them away to Ill and I am left alone here and I
tell you I never was solonesome in my life
before and for the first time in my life I am left
sick among strangers and felt as if I had no
friend in the world but God alone to got to and
and the two letters that I got from you to day
seamed to do me more good than all the letters I
ever got before With love to all I remain your
affectionate Nephew John Wasson
