out in the field, January 26, 1864.
dear Pa: We take our Pen in Hand to write You a letter.
We have Got something to say to You. It is Bad News, and we are sorry to say it. But it is the Fact.
And we Hope You won't get Very Madd with us for telling it, for It is the
Real Truth, and we don't mean to Hert your Feelings by telling it. Because, if we could help telling It, we wouldn't Tell It. Dear Pa, the truth is this.
Us Boys that You sent into the
Field to Fight the
Yankees are getting Mighty Hungry, and the Reason of it All is that we don't get Enough to Eat.
Now You Know that Boys that don't get a Plenty to Eat can't Fight.
They can Fight some.
But
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they can't Fight Good.
Because It takes Strength to Fight, and No Man is Strong that Don't get Enough to Eat. We All are willing not to Eat as Much as You All at
Home, and we All Don't never get as Good Vittles as You All do, but we Enjoy what we do Get more than You All do, just Because we are so Plegtaked Hungry All the
Time, but we have Got to Fight, and Fiting is Hard Work, and them that have to
Fite are obliged to Eat. If they don't they Can't Fite Hard.
We know that You Love us as Much as any Pa ever loved any Boys.
And we know it Herts You to Hear that we are Suffering.
We would knot say Anything about it, but we have kept it Back until we Can't keep it Back any longer.
If we Did, we would soon get so Poor and Lean that the
Yankees would Run Over us like a Big Fat Horse running over Timmid little Gearls, and Dog on 'em they Shan't Do it if we can help it, which we can if you will give us Enough to Eat. Because if the
Yankees run Over us, what will Be come of You and the Balance of the Pokes at Hoam?
This is a Important Question, don't You think so, Pa?
Dear Pa, Please don't get Fretted with us for telling you the Reason we don't get Enough to Eat. You have got a Great Deal more Wisdom than we all Have, but then You have not Got a Bad Pane in Your stummack because it is Empty, and Consequently Your Mind ain't turned to the
Subject All the time like Ours is. You have got so Many things to attend to that You can't be Expected to Think on this Subject as Often as we do, this is the Reason we make Bold to tell you something which perhaps you Don't Know, and we Beg you to pardon and Forgive us for Writing you a letter about it. Indeed, indeed we don't mean any Harm by it, or to Go out of our Place by Doing it.
Dear Pa, the Cause why we don't get Enough to Eat is that old man,
Mr. Northup.
They say He Ain't Got Good sense.
We don't say it, but Everybody says it. You told him to Feed us Well, and we Ain't Well Fed, that is certain.
He is to blame for it. Now if you was to get Another Man and tell him to Feed us Well, may be He would Do it. If he did not Do it, then nobody can Blame You for keeping a Man in office that has not Got Good sense.
We feel sorry for that Old Man, and wish he had his Right Mind and Enough sense to do the Bisness you told him to do. But we cant wait any longer, the Pane in our Stummack is so Bad and we are getting so Weak in our Joynts.
We know that the Fellows in old
Mr. Northup's office says the People is to Blame.
But that is the way all fellows do that Neglect their Bisness.
They try to throw the Blame on somebody Else, Because if they did not throw the Blame on somebody Else, they would have to be Punished for their Faults and at the same time to confess that their Punishment was Just.
But this Goes Against the Grain, especially of the Fellows that Does Wrong.
Either old
Mr. Northup and his fellows aint got the sense to Manage their bisness or else they have neglected it. Any way, they Ought to Quit and Make room for a New Sett.
If they dont, us Boys will Starve, the
Yankees will whip us, and then You all Hoam Fokes will Ketch the
Verry Devil.
Hoping, dearest Pa, that you will Atend to this Right Away, we sign our names, with all love and Duty.
Your affectionate sons,
