Letter from "a Good Southern Rights Girl"

John Hartwell

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From the Madison, Wisc., Daily Patriot of May 22, 1862. A true-hearted southern girl writes her prisoner-of-war cousin:

Beautiful Letter from a Nashville She Rebel

The following polished and peppery letter was written by a Nashville girl to a cousin, who is a prisoner at Camp Morton, Ind. It ought to be published in the next edition of the Complete Letter Writer:

John,
I want you to write and tell me about the fight, and how many lincoln devils you killed. I would like to have been there and seen them lincoln devils keel over. It would have done my soul good to have seen them fall by thousands. John, as you are a prisoner, and cannot have the pleasure of killing lincoln [hired hands], I believe I will take your place, and I tell you what, I will kill live Yankees – I will do more for them than Morgan has done for them. I tell you Morgan is taring up the barn for them; he is doing the work for them. John I wish I was a man, I would come there and I would soon get you out of that lincoln hole. I would tar their hearts out, and then cook them and make them eat them; but I will do all I can for you, and when they come in Shelby I will get some of their skelps and hang them up in my room for you to look at. I will be for Jeff. Davis till the tenisee river freezes over, and then be for him and scratch on the ice –

Jeff davis rides a white horse,
Lincoln rides a mule,
Jeff davis is a gentleman,
And lincoln is a fule.

I wish I could send them lincoln devils some pies; they would never want any more to eat in this world. May Jeff ever be with you. – This is from a good southern rights girl –
from your cousin, Marianne.​
 
From the Madison, Wisc., Daily Patriot of May 22, 1862. A true-hearted southern girl writes her prisoner-of-war cousin:

Beautiful Letter from a Nashville She Rebel

The following polished and peppery letter was written by a Nashville girl to a cousin, who is a prisoner at Camp Morton, Ind. It ought to be published in the next edition of the Complete Letter Writer:

John,
I want you to write and tell me about the fight, and how many lincoln devils you killed. I would like to have been there and seen them lincoln devils keel over. It would have done my soul good to have seen them fall by thousands. John, as you are a prisoner, and cannot have the pleasure of killing lincoln [hired hands], I believe I will take your place, and I tell you what, I will kill live Yankees – I will do more for them than Morgan has done for them. I tell you Morgan is taring up the barn for them; he is doing the work for them. John I wish I was a man, I would come there and I would soon get you out of that lincoln hole. I would tar their hearts out, and then cook them and make them eat them; but I will do all I can for you, and when they come in Shelby I will get some of their skelps and hang them up in my room for you to look at. I will be for Jeff. Davis till the tenisee river freezes over, and then be for him and scratch on the ice –

Jeff davis rides a white horse,
Lincoln rides a mule,
Jeff davis is a gentleman,
And lincoln is a fule.

I wish I could send them lincoln devils some pies; they would never want any more to eat in this world. May Jeff ever be with you. – This is from a good southern rights girl –
from your cousin, Marianne.​
Hard to not admire her spunk. You go girl
 
I think she was a "fule" who likely would have been a a lot less bellicose if she had the misfortune of experiencing combat firsthand. It is an interesting letter nonetheless.

It seems she had likely experienced the civil war, perhaps if you experienced an occupation firsthand it would color your views as well. Camp Morton didn't receive its first prisoners till Feb. 22nd 62 roughly the same time Nashville fell. It explains how she could write him, as Nashville was under occupation
 
Did mail to POWs get read and censored? Yes, she's a fiery girl, but she might have earned John some especially harsh treatment. I like the letter, but I think it was a bit reckless.
It would seem it was read, or how did a newspaper get hold of personal mail to prisoners? Not to mention the newspaper is over 300 miles from the camp...….
 
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It was observed many times that southern women were more bellicose than the men. Though, I was actually wondering whether the letter was real. It may have been invented by the newspaper editor to make "a good southern rights girl" sound ridiculous.

Both incoming and outgoing POW mail was routinely read. Prisoners letters had to be handed in unsealed. But, there's nothing in that silly diatribe anybody would hold against the prisoner receiving it. I expect the Yanks were chuckling over it.
 
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