1862 February 21 Camp Walker

Camp Walker
Feby 21 1862
My own dear Wife
I hope I am decidedly better this morning
for it is now ten Oclock and I am as yet free
from headache though I am very weak and ner
vious [sic] and can hardly write even to my dear wife
Dr Moffett I am sorry to say does not seem to be
much better, indeed I fear he is rather worse. His brother
in law Mr West & servant got here this morning and
I hope this may have a good effect on him. he
is quite ill – I fear dangerously so. The news from the
west was a little more encouraging last night
a bold and determined & desperate stand by our
little army at Nashville will yet reverse our for-
tunes in that locality. our people have been
asleep our army has been quietly resting on the
honors won at Manassas, Bethel & Leesburg. our
people seem heretofore to think that our Liberty could
be won by staying at home & cheating each other
& making whiskey at $3 a gallon. Let them now
awake to a sense of the great danger that is
really threatening them. Instead of want waiting
to see who the Legislature will excuse from duty
let every man from 16 to 60 who is able to
carry a gun rush to arms. we have a great
abundance of small arms. Every farm house has
one or two shot guns the very best arm. let
them be carried at once into action. Let our re
verses be the occasioned occasion of rousing our
entire population to action – action – fierce – bloody
vindictive action. Let every man put forth his own
effort – bare his own breast to the storm and
no longer depend on his more protective
neighbor. Let every man say I will do or die
and they the day will be ours. we will still
be a free people and a great people - 8000000
of people can never ev be inslaved [sic] if they

[page 2]
will only determine to be free. I am by no means
despondent. the very necessity of the emergency will
compell [sic] our people to action and I learn that
every where they are doing moving in the
right direction & in the right way. I am
satisfied that nothing but a heavy & blasting
reverse of fortune will sufficiently a excite our
people to the sort of action necessary to ena-
ble us to succeed. our nation is in its infan
cy – and like a child needs correction to make
us do right. we were geting [sic] very naughty
& bad – going on like a wicked & prosperous
people forgetful of our misfortunes & lessons –
like a blind girl we were singing & dancing
right on the brink of a great precipice. And
God in his mercy has chastised us. I hope
we will profit by it. I believe he is with us
and wills our success And I believe we will ul-
timately win it but it will be over a much more
desperate resistance than I at first anticipated
I am going to send my horse Frank to your
fathers. I am unwilling to send him to Rock-
ingham just now for I greatly fear that
the valley will fall into the hands of our
enimies [sic] before the 15” of March. I will get
David to buy my horse grain & have him
as well attended to as possible. As to your
going to Rockingham I dont want you to do
so until after the 15” by that time something
may hapen [sic] by which we will be the better
able to read the future & determine on the
right course. I wrote this on a Ball tick
et in which I see my name as one of the
managers used without my authority but I
care nothing about it. with this I received four
tickets which I will send out as a curiosity
to the girls. Most affectionately
E. T. H. Warren

[page 3]
My darling I recd your long letter yesterday after
I had writen [sic] the two pages of this letter. I am sorry
to see you so despondent. our latest news is rather
more cheering than what you heard and last
night it was reported that the enimy [sic] had
attact [sic] our forces at Nashville & that Beauregard
in command had completely routed them and
taken over 2000 prisoners. I dont much believe
this yet I do believe that our loss at Ft Don-
aldson will not exceed 1500 and that we now
have at Nashville an army sufficient to repulse
the enimy [sic] at that point. I say you must there
for cheer up – look on the bright side & make
everybody else do the same – dont listen at any
ones croaking – dont be uneasy about our
Division or brigade going to Winchester Its [sic] not
so. And I believe that Jacksons entire force will
fall back from there in less than 30 days

[page 4]
I cant say when I can come & see you not
before the time when you will most want
to see me. I expect to be there then. You
ought not to mind the foolish talk at home
about you or the children yourself or your husband
they are only trying to tease you and if you
would listen to it all with a smile and give
them a light laughing reply it would soon
end – try & not be worried by such things it does
not become you to be a child just like the
rest of them. I have never heard of Lt Hamiltons
death and as he has connections in our reg-
iment I certainly would heard it – if so. He is
not dead.
Your most affectionate husband
ETHW


"Dr. Moffett", line 5 - 'Samuel H. Moffett, Surgeon, 10th VA Infantry.'

"Rockingham", page 2, lines 22 & 23, and 28 - 'Rockingham County in the Shenandoah Valley.'

"the valley", page 2, line 24 - 'Shenandoah Valley.'

"Beauregard", page 3, line 6 - 'Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, Confederate general.'

"our loss at Ft. Donaldson will not exceed 1500", page 3, lines 9 & 10 - 'Lieutenant-Colonel Warren was very much mistaken about the number of Confederate casualties at Ft. Donelson, Tennessee. During the fighting which led to the eventual surrender of the fort over 300 soldiers were killed in action and over 1100 were wounded in action. On 16 February when the fort was surrendered, over 12,000 Confederates marched away to captivity.'

"Jacksons", page 3, line 17 - 'Thomas J. 'Stonewall' Jackson, commander of the Confederate Valley District.'

"E.T.H. Warren", page 2, signature & "ETHW", page 4 signature - 'Edward Tiffin Harrison Warren, Lieutenant-Colonel, 10th VA Infantry'.





[transcription and annotations by John P. Mann IV]

MSS 7786-g