%ISOpub; ]> Augusta County: Jesse Rolston, Jr., to Mary Rolston, February 28, 1864 [electronic resource] augusta county jesse rolston, jr to mary rolston february 28 1864 Rolston, Jr., Jesse Creation of machine-readable version: Julie Beagle Conversion to TEI.2-conformant markup: Julie Beagle ca. 8 kilobytes Virginia Center for Digital History Charlottesville, Virginia A6143

Copyright © 2001 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia

Publicly accessible

 2001 uva-lib:502413

The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War

 University of Virginia Library, Valley of the Shadow collection UVA-LIB-ValleyOfTheShadow Augusta County: Jesse Rolston, Jr., to Mary Rolston, February 28, 1864 <title type="sort">augusta county jesse rolston, jr to mary rolston february 28 1864

Source copy consulted: Joyce DeBolt Miller, ed., "Until Seperated by Death": Lives and Civil War Letters of Jesse Rolston, Jr., and Mary Catharine Cromer (Bridgewater, Va.: Good Printers, Inc., 1994), pp. 63-64.

We would like to thank Joyce DeBolt Miller for giving us permission to print these letters and Barbara Rolston for bringing this collection to our attention.

Used with permission from Published Source

 1864-02-28 English Family, Women American Civil War Summer 2001 Jaime Henshaw Proofread against the original; transcription corrected. January - July 2008 Scholarly Resources migration staff, University of Virginia Library Markup conversion Converted markup (originally TEI Lite) to comply with the UVa Library TEI DTD (uva-dl-tei).

Rolston writes of finding out his son is of drafting age, and of his desire to get out of the army.

 February the 28 1864 Camp 52nd Va infantry Summervill Ford Orange Cty. Va Dear anaffection companion

I seat my self to drop you a few lines. this will inform you that i am well and hoap that when this comes to hand it may find you injoying the Same blesing i received. i received the letter yours of the 23rd yesterday and was happy to heare from you all and that you was all in good health but am sorry that you are so through other. i hoap that this may find you all right. I no when one gets to studing they dont feel so well for i have had the trial of it more than once. this appears to me to be a hard way of liveing the way things goas now days but then i think their is a better day a coming and that chears me up [a]gain and i look forward to the future and hoap this cruel war will soon come to an end and so we can return to our hoames and have the pleasure of sitting around our own fireside with our wives and children. i think often of the times that is past an goan and think of the times that is now. what a change of afairs in a few years. it is enough to make one shuder to think of it. [part of the letter is missing or illegible at this point] Doctor Robson was down heare a few days a go and he told me that some of the neighbours was or had reported John had for to be oald enough for service but David Kyle said he would do all he could to keep him with you and the Doctor said he would do all he could in our behaf. i did or dont think John Rolston is 18 teen yet but i sorta forgot his age but if he is 18 teen they cant keep him out of service i am a fraid. You stated in your last letter that some of the neighbours thought that their was a chance for me to be exempted as a farmer. the sooner you attend to it the better it will be. i havent much chance to do anything of that kind heare and you could do more with it than i could heare. their is nothing like trying. you wish to no what i think about our chance about the times of war. it is a hard question but i dont think that our chance looks as gloomy as it did some months a go. the soaldiers is is pretty good sperits now to what they was some time a go. those peopel that goas to the yanks i judge they are of northern sentiments or ought to be. if they think they are rite i wont stop them if i had the chance. for my part i dont feal like going their myself as yet i think if the South [torn away]