Helena, Ark. April the 16 1865 My Dear Elizabeth with a heavy hart & felling very much depresd I shal make the attempt to write to you. yesterday evening the steamer Sultanna Came down with the old stars & stripes at half mast after so much good news. then for to see such a sight is better to immagen our fellings than to describe them we run to the boat to know the mater when to our disgust & horor the sad news which you have all ready herd faces turnd pale & sighs could be herd on all sids the soldier took it the hardest & well he must for shurly he lost the best friend he had. yes our Father is gon the Father of the Nation the soldiers Friend and a friend to all. Oh Lord save this Goverment yet. alltho thoes demons of Hell try to ruin us oh that they may be yet bloted from the face of the Earth and aloud to live no more amoung men this is the fruit of Copperheads. they are shurly the most black hearted cowardly set of deamons that ever was aloud to live on this sid of Earth What a pity but the lightning of Heaven would kill them instantly There is some talk as there will be rejoicing in Hamilton. let me tel this much as give you a hint of this much that all men that rejoice there shouts will be turned into mourning this thing will cause them to lick out there tong and that is anough for us let us see who they are let us know them. for altho we have lost our Commander but we have a Commander who thoes demons cannot quite reach one that whoes seet is fare above the Earth he is on our side & we trust in him and the one we lost is only a In¦¦¦ment at best and the old ship will reel a little but she will stratun & yet we will go through Men are being shot down on all sids. The news got to Cairo & a man exprest some joy & he was shot in 15 different places at once and at Memphis there was 3 men kild for expressing there joy at the boat when she landed here I was there and it is said that a man exprest him self then and some of our boys hunted him all night and if we had seen him we would have kild him instantly The Army is all rite yet you may depend on that and rebels will recieve no more good treatment let us to them we want to kill all of them both North and South We did not want the rebels treated very bad until now & now we want tham all beheaded rite off and every man that Cheeps treason in the North should be beheaded instantly the time has come when all men must be loial or die this thing started at Chicago and ended in mudering the President of the United States will we pray for there forgiveness ¦o let them sink in the bottomless pitt there to burn foever. Well Lizzie I trust that the Lord will take care of us I hope they may let Andy Johnson live long enough to have them all executed I think the rooms in the bad world will have to be inlarged and extended so as to be able to intertain all the perticepants of this God for saken rebelion When the news came old Fort Curtis (which had saluted so many victorys) throde a big shell away over the river towards the southern confedracy & the sound run over the waters of the Grete Mississippi like distant thunder only one shot and all was still and the thoughts of war burnd in every brest let us have reveng oh give us reveng The mail has just come & I am the recipient of two letters as 3 one from you & Martha & one from Eliza I have not been well for 3 or 4 days but feels better this morning I had to Quit coffee & Meat my eating consist of light bread & tea I think I will be all rite in a few days Tell Eliza that I will answer her in a few days when I get a little ¦¦¦ there will be no more news now for a while till we get our statesman replaced We have not got any more such men as Segt Sewerd is unless it is Dick Yates of Illinois the wether is nice the birds are whistling sweatly the leaves are nearly grown Black bereys are ripe down at Mobeal how I would like to be down there to see once more thoes beautifull fealds & woods of the South Give my love to all Enquiring friends I am yours truly till deth Remember me & I will you So true to me Il be to you M.A. Hooker Co A 87 Patrick J. Anderson http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=patanderson 9654 Baltimore Avenue, Laurel, Maryland 20723