LETTERS
The following letters were found among the correspondence of Hon. James W. Nesmith, United States Senator from Oregon from March 4, 1861, to March 3, 1867, secured by the Oregon Historical Society several years ago.—The first,[1] from General Ingalls, gives the viewpoint of an able officer of the United States army in 1864 regarding the necessity for constructing a good wagon road up the Columbia river—an enterprise which is now well under way, the expense of construction being defrayed by the counties through which it passes:
Headquarters Dist. of Oregon.
Fort Vancouver, W. T., June 11, 1861.
My Dear General:
Before this reaches you, events of the greatest magnitude will doubtless have taken place in the Eastern states, but I trust that our national Capitol will be in repose, and that the Congress of the United States may be undisturbed in their deliberations for the welfare of the Union. I need scarcely say, that I am for the preservation of this glorious Union; it must be preserved intact; not a single star shall fall from that brilliant galaxy—I have prayed that this difficulty might be settled peacefully, but if all the efforts of true patriots North and South fail to accomplish that desirable end, it must be crushed. Let those men, both North and South, who have been instrumental in bringing about this terrible state of affairs, be driven from their country, as unworthy citizens of the Republic.
I have no sectional prejudices; I love the whole country, North, South, East and West, and will fight to preserve this Union. I have no sympathy with any man, no matter from what section he may come, who is not for the Union, now and forever, one and indivisible.
I have served nearly thirty-nine years in the army, and whether battling with the savage foes in the far West, or deadly hummocks of Florida, or contending with the hosts of Mexico on many a well-fought and always victorious field, I have always turned with affection to my native land, and offered up a heartfelt prayer for the Union—God grant that this struggle may soon cease, and that peace may be restored,
- ↑ Donated by Mrs. Harriet L. McArthur, daughter of Senator Nesmith.
