Anderson County Texas November 11^th 1862

 

M^r John Swanson

                                    My dear brother,

                                                                                                                        Brother

Mat said to me last evening that M^r Dale of Palestine was going to start this evening and would go straight through to Richmond, and that he wished me to write to you and Billy Witcher. Well I now proceed to attend to his request having just finished a letter to W^m Witcher. My brothers here are as anxious to hear from you all as I am, though like you and brother Sam they do not like to write letters. I replied to brother Mat that I thought it was useless to write to you with the hope of getting any reply and said that I thought that I had better write to your daughter Mary Henry as I thought she would be very prompt in sending a reply; brother Mat seemed to prefer that I write to you, and requested that I should say to you and brother Sam, and to the / children of each of you to write and to keep on writing till we get letters.—

 

My dear brother I cannot account for the neglect of you and brother Sam and the children of you in each other in neglecting to write to us, for I think it is neglect as the letter mail is tolerable regular, and even when the federals had partial possession of the Mississippi River, I believe the newspaper mail stopped for a while but I think the letter mails were sent a cross the Mississippi (if not as often as before) tolerable regular, and now for some time as you must know communication has been kept open at Vicksburg not only for the transportation of the mails but also for merchandize of every description. Now I will recapitulate in order to remind you all of this neglect. Some time in the month of last November about twelve months ago I wrote to brother Sam, and wrote to your son Cook at the same time, in December following I wrote to your son Frank A. Swanson. on the 2^nd day of July last I wrote to you, and sent / the letter by private conveyance to Richmond I at the same time wrote to Billy Witcher who rec^d the letter and sent me a prompt reply. now I take it for granted that you got my last letter the date herein refered to as a letter would hardly miscarry from Richmond to Swansonville. In this letter I complained heavily about you all not writing to us, and still no letters have come. Why is this so. You can easily imagine our great anxiety to hear from our kindred in V^a when I say that the last direct accounts we have had from old Pittsylvania was the receipt of Cook, letter dated the 3^rd June 1861 nearly eighteen months ago, and but for Billy Witcher's letters and other indirect sources we should not have heard from you at all. Such neglect these awfull perilous times is wholly inexcusable.—

 

I hope that some of you will write as soon as you get this.

 

I have not much to write that I think will interest you as you get the war news of Texas through the papers. Texas is as spunky as ever in furnishing men / for the war. under the last act of Congress they are now raising men from thirty five to forty. The plan is to raise a division of ten regiments to fight in Virginia. Gen^l Sibley brigade is already ordered to V^a. We are all united here and strong in the faith. We regard recognition as a fixed fact it is only a matter of time. there are not many troops in Texas. we have a large army in Arkansas, and Texas is well represented there.

 

We have had a drought of over three months commencing in May and ending about the last of August notwithstanding we have made plentiful crops of corn, and our land teems with plenty of Hog, Hominy, fat beef peas and potatoes. there was not much cotton planted in comparison with former years, which is of course cut short. My love to you to brother Sam and to all                                                Your brother

                                                                                    W^m G. Swanson

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