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Loren Webb
letters and correspondence.
This letter was written by Loren
to his cousin Emily Ruggles.
Lebanon, Ills.
Feb. 12th 1863.
Dear Cousin Emily
Your pleasant and welcome letter was
rec. last Monday. You will pardon my
delay, for I have not had time to write till now, nor should I now, but we have
no school today, on acct of one of the professors having lost a child, we
buried it but a short time since.
I am glad to hear that you are well,
but am sorry to learn that father is unwell. I hope he will not have protracted illness however. I have not been well for several days but
feel pretty well today.
Now Cousin, I have a favor to ask.
There is a college somewhere near the center of Ohio, it is a manual labor
school. I believe it is in either
Delaware or Union Cos - I know no person there, and I want to find where it is.
Will you make inquiry find out the name
of the college, and the post office there. I wish to know more about it, and shall write there, so soon as I find
where to write. I think some of going
there next year, if matters suit me, if I do I shall come up that way to see
the folks, so if you wish to see me, please find where that college is, so that
I can write there.
You say that you hope I will indulge no
more such thoughts, as that, father would not be well rec'd, I thought likely
he would be, but I wanted to know, positively. From what I have heard, I thought that our folks, in Ohio regarded us as
poor ragged and hungry, and ignorant people, and because we have wandered to
the western shore of the great father of waters, where the track of the savage
is yet visible; that we know no-thing. I will not tell what gave me this impression, but I have had such an one
for some time. That is the reason, I
though you might not welcome father, but instead, regard him as a
semi-barbarian, - I have thought several times about coming to Ohio, but this
very thing has kept me back, and I have resolved not to come till I am able to
make you all realize that though I have trailed the wild Indian and the deer,
have stood on the wilderness slopes of the Majestic Mississippi, carved my own
fortune from the Granite Hills of Adversity, and sought knowledge, of the
fur-clad woodsman, and learned my lessons by the light of the moon, because
poverty furnished no candle, and dined on hope because the present furnished no
food. Yes I have done all this and yet,
I say I wish to teach you when I come, that we are not barbarians, that we
still have honor, that we practice virtue, that we love liberty and knowledge,
- If I have judged you wrong - pardon me. I hope I have, I would not think so, if tis not so, and I think from
what you say, that I am mistaken. Now
Emily, I have told you plainly my feelings, if I have erred, correct me. I am frank, but hope I will not offend, _ I
know you would listen with interest to my history for the last 12 years. When I come you shall hear, and wonder. No person knows my history but myself,
father can't tell, but little. I have written
it myself. I have never told him nor
any of my relatives, many of the most interesting of incidents and most trying
times of my life; I look back upon it myself, I thank God I still live, and by
his blessings I shall rise superior to the legions of adversaries. - I hope
not, I seek not for riches, or honor. Knowledge is my cry, in the midst of my great mental darkness, I have
the feintest ray of light, and I cry for more light. - Yes, light, and
knowledge, and religion shall be that for which I seek. I ask not ease, or comfort, but yield to
labor in, for the good of my fellow man. I ask power to labor, yes, power from Heaven, that only can satisfy
me. The groveling things of the earth
are fading from my view. I see a field
of wide expanse, where glory clothes the soul, where mortal man can work, for
immortal souls.
Wealth may be lost, lovers, depart, but
a mind well cultivated, a heart purified by grace, are eternal fortunes.
---- I just rec a letter from Lester,
he is not very well; tell father his address is 6th U. S. Cavalry, Co. B.
Washington, D.C. Yesterday I heard from
Harvey and Loretta, all are well.
Cousin you will excuse this poor
writing I have so little time to spare I have to hurry. - I have the studies of
Latin, Greek, Geometry, and Logic, and the duties of Critic of our Literary
Society, to perform, and I am much hurried. Now please write, I love to hear from you.
Give my love to father, your mother and
all, others, of my friends.
Your Cousin,
L. Webb
Transcriptionist notes : The day this letter was written,
Loren’s brother Lester was captured while on picket duty at Richard’s Ford,
Virginia.
Loren writes in the last paragraph of having no time, but in
his first paragraph spoke of having no studies that day; and then goes on to
write a lengthy and sanctimonious sermon in a rambling style, filling three
handwritten pages of a seven page letter.
Loren wrote this as if it was a soliloquy of sorts, much
like a sermon, and did not use a standard style of punctuation. I have used my discretion and inserted some
commas, semicolons and periods where appropriate. Loren separated most of his sentences and phrases with simple
commas or dashes and only capitalized the beginnings of sentences that would
stretch on for half a page or more.
Webbs Removed
West, compiled by Jonathan Webb Deiss,
2001
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