To the Hon                                                                              Camp of 16^th Reg^t Va Vols

            W. Biddle                                                                               February the 2^d 1863

 

Honorable Sir

                        Pardon me for presuming to address you an humble individual as I am but for the life of me I cannot help doing so Sir seeing your noble advocacy of the superior merit and talent of the white race beyond the Black and of your efforts to prevent them from being placed in an equality with the Brave defenders of this Glorious and once happy Country I tell you the your words receive A hearty response from the Greatest portion of the army now in the field and that if the radical portion of Congress wants the war speedily ended they are pursuing A sure Course for no sooner do they place A regiment of negroes midst the Brave army of the Potomac than you will See them flying north and leaving it for the negroe to restore the union Sir let them take Care of the men they have first and when they fail let them appeal to the Bravery of the Ethiopians to restore what the Brave anglo Saxton and Celtic races has failed to do but Sir it appears to us all and I assure you is Generally Canvassed amongst us that the radical faction would Sooner pay the negroe than the white Soldier and from all appearance I do believe our Surmises are Correct the presidents proclamation of Emancipation has done the Rebel more Good than any of you are aware of /

 

Sir I have seen it stated by one of your opponents that he had A Conversation with some Captain who would support the movement with all his ability and that he was sure it would be successful and that the negroe would make Good Soldiers now I do differ from him very much in that for he has seen A great deal of negroe pluck and daring as I have not seen as much I never saw them of much use on board of ship or on shore wherever they were employed and let me here state that I have fifteen years of sea experience and that I always seen where twenty white men would man A merchant ship of one thousand tons that thirty five Colored men would be the Compliment and that by the merchant shipping laws of England who adores the everlasting nigger and another prohibition that the same laws impose on masters of vessels trading South that they are not to bring them to the northward of the Cape of Good hope from any place to the southward of it and not to employ them to the northward only between there and the west indies if they bring them to England they must pay their expenses back or find some vessel bound South and send them home in London there is A strangers home built expressly for them where white Sailors may go if they choose but that any man ever availed himself of the invitation I never seen during my stay in london why these restrictions are imposed on British sailing masters I do not know if it be not the inferiority of the Ethiopian when they can be had for one third the wages paid per month to British Seamen /

 

Honorable Sir that Captain well knows that his promotion is surer than if he would oppose the radical view concerning the nigger if that Captain would attend to his Command wherever it is it would be more honorable for him than to be skulking about washington advocating the arming of negroes to put down this unholy rebellion they would accept of the meanest offices sooner than put themselves up as A target for rebel Rifles their devotion cannot be of course questioned because they advocate the niggers equality with the white man the Secretary of war will see their names and perhaps when they come before him he will not forget it for them what has all the Generals done towards the suppression of the rebellion that loves the nigger so tell me of the Great Battles they fought and the victories they won by their skill and bravery there is General Layton of South Carolina he has completed the 1^st South Carolina Colored Volunteers A splendid achievement considering the fearful obstacles in his way in the shape of having nothing else to do I forget that General Hunter presided at the overthrow of Gen^l Porter he would not advocate for the nigger if he die he was Safe the Brave M^cClellan was their aim and it is well the army of the Potomac understands it if he Caused the Fredericksburgh Blunder I believe he would be lynched by the Radicals of the present Congress Sir how comes it that every negroe has been paid monthly wherever they are employed and at present they have the Goverment employment mostly to themselves and we are Soldiering for them and are yet without our pay here having been some six months without it and no prospects of us getting it now

 

Hon Sir I have just now read A letter that came to A man in this Company from A friend of his letting him know of the distressed condition of his wife and family telling him that his too little boys that is left to him are forced to beg their bred and that without the shoe to their feet and letting him know that there is A family whose Father is in the army and that they are not Blessed with as much as would cover them to day Sir this state of things is dreadful Can you blame men to desert when their families are suffering in this manner you I believe have at least A hart and Christian Conscience and that you would not blame A man for doing so is there any monster living that would allow his wife and family suffer so No and I for one would brave death A thousand times than suffer it if I had one we have from four to six months pay due unto us and cannot get a Cent of it If I am not paid before this week expires I will write to you again and Give you to understand what sort of manner we are kept from our pay you may Sir at your discretion read this to that Gentleman who opposed you with the Captains views that is you think it is worthy of such A publicity but do not unless there is A necessity Give them my name for if you do the guardhouse will be my station if they want it badly give it I will brave the Consequence Believe me Sir to remain

your Humble and ardent admirer

                                                                        H. DeLacy

 

PS

Sir will you be so kind

as to let me know if you approve

of this or not

SOURCES