Item description: Letter, dated 15 March, 1865, from Edward Porter Alexander to his wife Bettie Mason Alexander.
[Item transcription available below images.]
Item citation: From the Edward Porter Alexander Papers, #7, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Item transcription:
[Mrs. E.P.A., Washington, Ga.]
Camp Same Place
Wed. Mch 15th 1865
One of my couriers is just going to town Darling Bessie & I have time for but a short note to send in by him, I received last night your letter of the 23rd Ult. sent by the three soldiers & you don’t know what pleasure it gave me. I sympathise with U so deeply Darling in your daily discomforts & sickness & would give anything if I could only be with U to cheer you up & to nurse & watch over you. I pray night & morning that God may spare you in your hours of suffering & may be more than all earthly help to U
& give you that comfort wh. none else could give. I am very glad that you have the dividend at last tho U don’t say how much it is. If you have anything to buy I think you had better buy it at once, or else buy gold for I would not keep Confed. money now it is depreciating so steadily. Gold is now 65 in Rich. & I laid out all of my money a few days ago in getting a ten dollar piece of it.
If you can’t get the gold I would get the things wh. you will most surely want, & get yourself some more green tea now while you can. I can’t bear to think of your getting out of it. We have had a little excitement here for the last few days over Sheridan’s raid wh. was said to be coming to Rich. It however turned off & went to Louisa C.H. & thence when I last heard from it, it was going towards Han. Junction destroying the R.R. Gen. Longstreet went up yesterday with Pickett’s Divn. to try & catch them at the latter place. All is quiet on our lines here & seems likely to remain so & my command is now reduced to half its previous extent by Gen. Pickett’s being relieved from the line on the south side of the James & sent after Sheridan. Gen. Long now commands everything across the river & I only have from the James to the Chickahominy & all the Richmond Defences & the Torpedo service in the river.
I don’t suppose U will object to this as it will diminish any chances of being in a fight. Lucy Webb told me yesterday that Burton Harrison, the Pres.t. secretary had said that I was to be made Maj. Gen. over Gen. Pendleton, but I am confident that he was either misunderstood or misinformed. We have no news here from Bragg, Johnston or Sherman. I begged Lucy Webb out of her likeness of U yesterday & am going to swap it to Sallie for hers wh. is much better. You don’t know how I love to look at it, & think our old times but Oh! it makes me so homesick. If I could only be with U my Dear Dear Wife I wd. want nothing more.
Love to all, all well in city. May God ever bless & keep U my Darling & soon restore us to each other ever prays your loving Husband.
