Jeremiah Hall - Civil War Letters

Letters from Jeremiah Hall
to his wife
Frances Porterfield Hall
September 25 & 26, 1864

In line near Palmetto. Ga. Sept. 25, 1864

Dear wife, I seat myself this evening to drop you a few lines which will inform you that I am well at present hoping when these few lines reach you they may find you and the children well in good health. I have little news of interest to write. We have been here a week today. We have not received any mail since coming here. We have put up breast works here and are lying still. The Yankees are not anywhere now that I can hear of. We are getting sorry rations now but we can make out to live on what we get. I want to see you all very bad but I fear it will be a long time before I shall have an opportunity but I hope this war will soon close that we all may come home. I am doing commissary duty. I don’t go on picket duty…….our own ditches and camp. We had a man exchanged from Atlanta who came in today. He said the Yankees had ten men to our one. I heard just after I wrote to you last that Allen is dead. I do not wait for letters from you. I write when ever I think I can get a letter off. I want to see you the worst in this world. I think of you and my little children. I can not keep tears from my eyes but yet it does no good. I want you to write me often and you will oblige me very much to. Nothing more but I remain your affectionate husband till death.

Jeremiah Hall

Sept. 26, 1864 Dear Wife,

I seat myself to drop you a few more words as I did not get my letter off yesterday. I have nothing more of importance than I wrote yesterday. Only the President came around this morning and he did not gain much applause. Last year he came around and all the hollowing I ever heard of it was then but there was little cheering done. The troups seem to be all out of heart. I am out of heart I don’t deny it. They have ten men to our one that is a clear case. If they have a notion to drive us farther they can do it easily now. If we attempt to fight them here they will over power us by November as they can flank us back in the level country. It is a rich mans war and a poor mans fight but if they want the Negroes all free we will only have to keep fighting twelve months longer and they will force their way all over our country and free them without any law. There is but one way to prevent the freeing of every Negro in the south. A great many people are expecting a rupture in the Lincoln government in about the time of the election but that is all stuff. Lincoln is sure to be the next President and now is the best time to make peace that will ever be again. With Lincoln as President we may expect the war to continue four more years or come to his terms. I have no sympathy for a yankee and will fight then as long as any other person but I am not in favor of putting myself up for a target when I see I can do no good by it. I will close for the present. I am full. I could sit and talk a week. I am pestered. Farewell my dear.

Jeremiah Hall

P.S. If any person asks you what I think of the war just show them letter. I have prophesied right this far.

J. Hall