Reading November 8. 1864

4 Oclock. A.M.

Dear Cousin,
Suppose you had just given in all your evidence for your defence, on your trial for some thing which you had done that, if it went against you inflicted upon you the sure loss of fully half your property and banishment from the country that had been your home for 35 years; and the jury were out of court deciding upon the verdict, how would you feel?.

Would you feel comfortable?. No.

Would not you feel worse still if you knew nearly half the jury were very strongly prejudiced against you and you had had no chance to challenge them and get a fair impartial jury who loved liberty justice and fair dealing?. Just so I myself, and many another antislavery man feels all day to day.

This is the day we vote, all over the loyal states, for a president of the united states for the next 4 years, whether there is, or ever will be again, a united states or not. The candidates are Abm Lincoln, with a declaration that the policy of him & his party is to restore the union by perseverance in a vigorous war to crush the rebellion, abolish slavery the cause of it, and punish the instigators and leaders of this infernal rebellion treason as they deserve. The other In this policy we have persevered for 3½ years and have planted the old flag permanently in every one of the 11 rebel states and now hold possession of full two thirds of the rebel territory. We have a finer fleet of blockading vessels than we ever had and have every rebel port sealed shut but one (Wilmington North Carolina) and in six months more we will have that shut also.

We have far larger and better diciplined armies in the field than we ever had. The main rebel army is hemmed in at Richmond, to save for a short time the rebel capital. Their next best army has been driven away back into the heart of the confederacy, defeated and redefeated and is being driven about from pillow to post and dwindling fast away. Their army in Northern virginia in the Shenandoah valley has just met a crushing defeat and lost very nearly all its artillery, camp equipage, army wagons stores and ammunition.

Whereever the rebels show any force of any account, they are met by a superior union force and driven back. Their power of resistance is fast diminishing and becoming beautifully less every day. They have got every white man between 15 & 60 at all fit for a soldier in the field, and are now, in their dispair, as a last resort, going to arm three hundred thousand negroes (nearly every able bodied slave they have) while we have lots of white men left yet.

The population of Berks county, where I live, is about a hundred thousand. This gives a proportion of at least fifteen thousand men able to fight. Our quota in the last draft for five hundred thousand men, was only eighteen hundred and eighty six men. Only one eighth. So you see we have plenty of white men to wear out the rebels entirely if we had never armed any blacks.

But we have now two hundred and fifty thousand brave black

fellows in the field, and when the rebels bring their three hundred thousand slaves aainst our black warriors we shall soon have three hundred thousand more, for negroes in slavery are not at all likely to willingly fight negroes in freedom if they have any chance at all to join them and enjoy the same freedom. And then down goes the last shaddow of hope for Jeff Davis or any of his infernal crew.

Such is the position and the prospects of the United states government to day, if we can reelect Abm Lincoln.

But the Democrats. (Develocrats would be a far more appropriate name) have nominated General George B. Mc.Clellan, a rank proslavery aristocrat, and are trying to elect him as a war man on a peace platform, the first resolution of which declares the war for the suppression of this infamous slave drivers rebellion to be a failure. Entirely a failure. And that we must have an armistice, and the cessation of hostilities and restore the Union by negotiation, and that a restoration of the Union, simply a restoration of the Union, is all they ask & the rebels may name what conditions so ever they please. Nay they offer to lay down blank sheets of paper and let Jeff Davis and Company write out the conditions and impose upon us what ever they please. Reconstruct the Union as they please. Now what those conditions would be for the black man, we all know. Death for many a brave black that faught for our freedom and his own, and life long slavery for every negroe that has been in the Union service. That we well know, for the Democrats (God save the mark) of the north, to day, dispise and hate the “niggers” worse than the rebels do themselves by far. and many thousands of native born Irish and Germans, who have fled here from oppression at home belong to that hellish party. But thank God very very few of British birth belong to them. As far as I can find out out every man here from England, Scottland & wales with that who has a vote will vote for Lincoln, Union & freedom for all men. Myself, both my sons and my son in law shall all vote this freedom ticket to day, and will do it if we put in our vote with one hand and have to hold a revalver in the other. We expect no disturbence here, but there will be terrible times in some places, especially in New York and Baltimore. The former is full of fraudulent soldier’s copperhead proxey votes, and the Copperhead bullies swear vengence and blood if they are not allowed to put them in.

Maryland has some thousands of voters who have been in the rebel armies or aided the rebels in some way or another. Every man there, at all suspected, will be required to take a very severe test oath before he can vote, and the “Democrats” swear all manner of ugley things sooner than their friends shall submit to that. A similar state of affairs exists in Kentucky the states of Kentucky & Missouri. Well, if this blackgard, bullying treason loving party should beat us

you may and get the national government into their hands, the rebels consent to take the blank paper and write their own terms of reconstruction of the union; what those terms would be you may judge by the following from the “Richmond Whig (newspaper of October 31. 1864. [sic] Only seven days ago.

“Talking of reconstruction, there is but one means for a thorough reunion, and that is by a combination between the confederates and the Northern conservatives, cemented by the blood of the Black Republicans. If the Northern conservatives would at once and actively co-operate with us on this basis, there might be hopes of a happy and permanent reunion. But nothing short of the blood – the extermination of the monsters who have made this war will suffice.”

By confederates they mean themselves. The southern slave holders, rebel armies, and all who are in open rebellion against the United States government. By “Northern conservatives” they mean the great proslavey negro hating copperhead democratic party of the free states and the four slave states, Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri that did not secede.

By Black republicans they dont mean the negroes, they would want to enslave all them that they did not hang or shoot. They mean the Republican antislavery extension party who elected Mr Lincoln and prevented their spreading slavery over our territories now free, and by so doing, they say, we caused them to rebel, drove them into rebellion because we would not allow slavery to rule america, and thus caused, they say, “have made this war”. And more especially do they mean those who were known as antislavery men, “abolitionists”, long before this war began.

Now I have been known as a thorough antislavery man, a full blood abolitionist, for over 30 years, and have been often threatened, many years ago, for freely speaking my own sentiments against the vile, develish, damnable institution of american slavery. So you may know what my fate would be here if these blood thirsty villians get into power and I stay untill they thus “cement” “a happy and permanent reunion”.

Now you may think this an excited exageration of the danger. But there are in the north thousands of murderous scoundrels who would gladly lynch and hang every abolitionist they could catch if it would restore the union with slavery as it was five years ago. and as to what the southerners themselves would do, let the story of their midnight murders and broad day butcheries of southern union and antislavery men who were unfortunately in their power, tell.

To show you still more plainly what these southern devels really are I will tell you of a fact I know to be entirely true, for I have it direct from an old friend of mine who is an officer now in the Union army & has been in it ever since the 16th april 1861 when the first men started from here to defend the capital at washington. Since then he has been in a many battles and skermishes. He says that during the last two years, when ever the rebels could get hold of any of the killed, (or wounded that they could not make prisoners) they always stripped them starke naked and very often horribly mutillate and

murder the wounded and hideously mutilate the dead. Chop off the limbs and the head or cut the throat from ear to ear, and cut off the privates and stick it in the dead mans mouth. Such are the incarnate devels we are at war with. Such fiends in human form are fit champions of human slavery. Such are the hell hounds with whom your British tories so strongly sympathize, and to whom they lend their powerful aid by millions worth of arms, amunition, and material of war, and every “neutral” encouragement they can give them, to go on and fight to the bitter end and found[?] establish over the greatest and finest portion of this continent, vast as it is, a hidious despotism founded entirely on the infernally barberous institution of human bondage with all its accompanying cruelties, horrors and depravities.

Such is the meloncholy fate that hangs over & so fearfully threatens free america to day, and it is only a wise and good and merciful God, through the great Union antislavery party, that can avert it and save the cause of liberty on this continent. And we have a fearful battle to fight to day.

We have the rebels south to fight, openly and directly[,] and indirectly backed up by all the wealth and influence of the tories of Europe. We have the rebels and rebel sympathizers by thousands who escaped to Canada on the the north and will to day come over the line in gangs and attempt to vote the rebel slaveholders ticket, Mc.Clellan & Pendleton, negotiation & submission to the slave drivers rule. And then we have to contend against the aweful amount of averice, ignorance, prejudice, pride of opinion, party bigory and white livered cowardice we have among us every where. What that is I will tell you.

An Englishman going along the street to day meets a Native born American.

Englishman Says “Good morning old friend, how do you vote to day?

American “Well I am tired of this war. I am tired of paying these high prices for every thing, these high taxes, and all these battles and bloodshed. I want peace and I shall vote with the Democrats”.

Englishman. “Well, peace, honest, honorable, durable peace & the full and firm reestablishment of the government and the union on the declaration of independence, the constitution, and the fair recognition of the rights and liberty of all men in America I am for peace too, but can the Democrats give us that if we put our national government into their hands?. Wont they deceive and betray us now worse than they did the last time they were put in power?.

American. Oh no, they wont deceive us again. What you talk about may all be all very well, but I want peace and if Mc.Clellan be elected we can have peace. I know it

Englishman. How are you so sure of peace. How do you know it?

American. Why look here. Our picket lines and the rebel picket lines are often near together, and they talk to each other. And the rebel pickets tell our pickets that if we will elect

Mc.Clellan they will lay down their arms and come in again. Englishman “Look here citizen. I was born under a king, but I took in the love of liberty with my mothers milk and inherited courage from my father and my native country. And I tell you that after these devels have rebelled and behaved as they have done, sooner than I would vote as a rebel with a musket in his hand to shoot down loyal lovers of liberty, tells me to vote I would fight him for ever. You are a free born native american ain’t you?.”

American. “O yes I am a free native born American. What of that?.”

Englishman. “What of that! – Why, I would sooner be a dog and bay the moon than such an American as you are. Go. vote the coward and the traitors ticket and your children may live to curse their mean fathers memory. –

Englishman walked on. A few hours later he met with an Irishman. blowing and making a great bother about “the white mans rights.”

Englishman. “Well how long have you been in America.

Irishman. “And sure an its full thateen years sence I landed in Ameriky so it is. And I heve allwiz been a gid dimicrat so I hev, an I gid my first vote in New York eight yers agoo for Misther Buckhanan, so I did.

Englishman. Well, did not Buchanan and his cabinet ministers betray the government and national defences into the hands of these traiter rebels, and encourage this wicked rebellion all he could?.

Irishman. Divil a bit ive it. Misther Buchanan was a fine ald jintleman so he was, and if he wur prisidint to day the dam’d ribills would be

as paceible as lambs so they would. Hurra for Misther Buckhanen.

Englishman “Well, you are a poor man, now when you go up to put in your ticket, and a man goes up to vote right after you worth a million of dollars, and puts in his ticket, it counts no more than yours, ought not you to be willing to defend the your vote? Where else in the world would you have such rights, franchises and chances as you have here. The rebels spit upon your vote when they rebelled, and they spit on it now.”

Irishman. “Divil a bit did any man iver quistin my vote. Sure I would have knocked the man down that did so I would. Defind my vote agin the rebels, by my soul I am a poor man so I am, an me an my wife and childer live in a shanty by the rail road rint free, and divil a bit do the rebels bother about my vote. Bud I see what yer afther so I do. Yer are a wantin me for to vote for ald Abe. Lincoln so ye are. Bud he’s no dimicrat. He wants to make the naygurs aqual to the white man, and I’ll nather vote nor fight for such a man, or his naygurs ather, or his black sojers ather

Englishman. “Well I want you to vote for your own government, and fight for your own freedom, but if you are too stupid and cowardly to do it yourself in God’s name let the naygurs fight this battle for you.

Irishman. To hell with the naygurs, Ginniril McClillin will do it right.

Now both these incidents happened to me yesterday. Such are the materials that makes up the great “Dimicratick parrty” that rules in america.

I must close now. remember me kindly to all. especially to your parents.

today decides our fate     Yours affectionately
God save the republic     Thomas Jackson