Letter from a black Confederate

James B White

Captain
Honored Fallen Comrade
Joined
Dec 4, 2011
No idea if this has any grain of truth, just posting because it was funny and, more on topic, it shows the mindset which at least some white Virginians were promoting toward the black supporters in their ranks, which I've bolded. It's from the June 1862 Richmond Dispatch, but as you can see picked up from elsewhere. Some of the typos may be due to the machine-read transcription rather than in the original page images, which I haven't seen.
Link to source: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2006.05.0491:article=pos=44

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From the camps.
--We are permitted to make extracts from a letter written by a servant now at Corinth to his sister in this vicinity.

"I've bin havin a good time generally see a heap of fine country and plenty of purty gale. This is a very rainy place is rainy wether, but we do very well any how. I have also been on the battle field and heard the bullets whit. When the Yankees run I got my sheer of what they left — got more clothes, blackets, over-coats, and razors, than I could . I've got on a Yankee shirt with two pockets. I've got an jun Rubber cloke with two brass eyes, keeps the rain off like a meet in house.-- Ime made man since the battle, and and primed to try it agin. It I can Yankee and git a gold watch and a pair of my trip will be made. How other ******s do to stay at home while we soldiers are having such a good time out here in Massissippi, is more than I can tell.

Your borther, William.

William is a servant of Gen. Rates, of this District, and is in attendance on a mess in the army. Mr. Lewis Cover, of this place, who has lately returned from Corinth, confirms his statement, and says he ‘"raked a pile,"’ Ligg the great majority of our servants in the army, William shows his good sense by looking to present acquisitions rather than to dim visions of free ****** glory in a distant and uncertain future.-- Edgefield (S. C.) Advertiser.

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