On Jan. 7, 1863, Joseph E. Wesson wrote to his wife, Rachel Jane. Drafted in May of 1862, Wesson had been away from his wife and their six children for months, but leaving was not an option. You had two options: answer the call to serve your country or be imprisoned.
These letters, donated to the Department of History at the University of Georgia as part of a project called Private Voices, are now located at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery, Ala. They are priceless treasures to my mother-in-law especially, for even through their sad tones she can learn so much about her family.
But these eight letters also provide an important lesson for us in our day and age.
Joseph and Rachel (Jane) married at a young age and became the proud parents of six children. They lived originally in Talladega County or Sylacauga, Ala., farming the land and living a simple life. Rachel Jane remained there until her death, and neither planned to be separated from the other, never to be reunited again.
I can’t imagine what Wesson was thinking as he wrote to his wife during what we now know as the Civil War. His unit apparently traveled only 20 miles away from his family, but he was unable to leave to see them. Letters below are edited or paraphrased for clarity.
“Well Jane,” he writes, “it is with pleasure that I set myself to let you and the children know that I am in the land of the living. I ain’t well Jane, you know how my head, back and hips have caused me to suffer.”
Speaking to his children in another letter he says something to the effect of: “John ... I want you to be a smart boy ... Martha and William, be smart and learn your books and help your ma.”
In one of the last letters, Joseph tells Rachel Jane that he was recently discharged from the hospital and was heading to join the fight at what we believe to be Greenwood, Miss., near Fort Pemberton. He did not have much money, selling his best blanket while at the hospital to gain what little money he did have. He spoke of sending some very small, but very special gifts to the children if he could find a way to do so.
That letter was dated April 8, 1863. His last letter written on April 24, 1863, and told of his terrible sickness with measles and how he had grown very weak, but that they had made it back to Vicksburg, Miss.
Joseph did not survive the war and never returned home. HIs family members were told that after crossing the river to escape the Union soldiers, he developed pneumonia and did not survive. He was allegedly buried somewhere in Mississippi, but the exact location is unknown.
These letters show how hard times were for the simplest of men and for their families left behind. They were fighting while hungry, cold, and without shoes. They had very little communication with the outside world and death visited daily.
I have only read about war in history books. But reading these letters made me realize what we could face if we do not make changes in our country. While we have become a lot more advanced in technology, the pain of another civil war will still be as real as it was for Joseph E. Wesson and so many others who were also drafted, leaving their families without option.
While I am so thankful for all the men who sacrificed their lives for our country, I am not sure that we are ready for that again. Yes, we have a lot of men ready to lay down their lives to protect our freedoms, but at the same time, we have become complacent and lackadaisical in planning for our future, relying too heavily on others to carry the load and fight the fight, allowing ourselves to be easily swayed in our decisions.
I pray that we never see the likes of another civil war, but that means that we must take our country back. We cannot be ruled by tyrannical leaders. We must sound the alarm when things are not as they should be and hold the line until change occurs.
Please don’t let this voice from so many years ago be lost in vain. We still have time, and we can still make a difference!
Ashley Carter is a wife, mother, and grandmother living in Elmore County, where she and her husband run Farm to Table Living and Carter Farms. Ashley serves as Controller and Executive Assistant at 1819 News. She is currently working on an inspirational book of short stories. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email ashley.carter@1819news.com.
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