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ASHAEL SUMNER DEAN

 CIVIL WAR LETTERS TO HIS FAMILY

 

 

 

Jacksonville Florida  June 4th 1864

 

Dear Virginia,

  I am in the land of flowers Flora-da.  I have one regret.  You can not be here with me to see all this beauty.  I only half admire what I see alone.  You could increase my delight could you see these rich Magnolias and beautiful Oleanders and the fragrant Pomigranites, too.  All natives and growing not in pent up gardens, but by the road side.  Not as stinted trees, but large beautiful Shrubs.  Then there is the Southern Pine, the Live Oak, the more domestic Orange and Fig and Lime, Myrtle I can't enumerate more.  They are all so leafy fragrant and attractive.  I send you in a paper some Moss which hangs pendant a yard or two from the stately Oaks.  It is rotten and then resembles hair and is used as a substitute.  Also a Fig leaf and a small Pomigranite bud and I enclose a Magnolia leaf or two. - By the by, these are the most beautiful flowers I ever saw.  The tree grows as large as the Horse Chestnut and all these flowers are as white as our Pond-Lilly and much larger and the fragrance is delicious.  The Figs are green and about two thirds grown.  The Oranges will yield largely and will ripen in August.

  Jacksonville is on the St.Johns about 80 miles up.  It is on a bluff with good moorings and is quite a little place, but Art never gave it its beauty.  It owes all to the climate.  Its vegetation is its only charm.  Could you only see these poor sickly whites?   "Crackers", as long and gaunt as Hamlets Ghost and their homes, why our wood shed it twice better.  The women with a poor faded dress of three breadths, no skirts or hoops and always with a pipe.  The men lying under a tree or fishing and the children along with the hens, which lay eggs for which then their owners had the face to charge us 75c for twelve.  You can see, if you like, two fat wenches with their white bandannas, one going to market, where you can find half the people of the town, of the stronger sex undergoing a deal of fatigue on the verandahs and many, many other South scenes.  The USS PAWNEE and OTTAWA are here.  We are told that our lines extend out three miles but Rebs and torpedoes are numerous.  Three of our boats are already sunk.  I saw the top of the HARRIET S. WEED sticking out of the water.  We passed with in a few feet of her.  Many men were lost on her.   A number of vessels have been lost here. - We have passed down in Safety and now are at the mouth of the river.  I never saw so bad a river to enter.  Breakers are all about and the channel is immensely crooked. - The flies and mosquitos are devouring me.  Let me leave them for inside my curtain, good night.

 

 

                                                                                Sunday

 

Dear Virginia, I am away from you all this day.  You do not know where I have been or what I have been doing.  After the day's work I feel constrained to say a word on the subject of temptation for I want you to know something of what we sometimes do on Sunday. - We brought orders for the Steam Sloop of War PAWNEE and we came down last evening in consort.  She draws so much water that we expect great difficulty in getting her over the bar.  We brought with us a Coast Survey man who knows the river well and all day boats have been putting down buoys and taking soundings but without success.  We shall try tomorrow.  You remember our Captain would let no boat leave the ship a while ago?  Well today we weighed anchor and went up the river and the boats went a fishing.  I did not go, but after went on shore for a walk with the P's clerk.  What I mean to say is we have no Sunday and we are obliged to exercise very much care or we are doing wrong.  I do very many things I know are wrong, but I do try to shun and many times are able by the help of God.  I want you to pray for me and I believe your prayers on my behalf will be effectual. - This eve we had a sort of a Bible class and some general litigious reading.  I am reading this eve "Advice to a young Christian" with benefit  I think perhaps I am quite seriously inclined as when I am more actively employed.  I have much time to think when I have not the inclination to read.  I know I have no need to tell you to be earnest.  Your nature is a help to you and I am sanguine that you have once put your hand to the plow you will not turn back.  I mean to think of the Christian life as a warfare more than I have done and may be I may be able to keep nearer to God than I have done.  I do, I think, enjoy a silent hour and I feel that my prayers are often answered.  I expect to find letters when we get up to Port Royal and I am therefore very anxious you may know I am contented to be here if it is best for me.  But I do pray that the war may soon close so I may be with you once more.  I could not be happy away from you were it not for duty.  I am happy under all these dangers and am thankful.  Think how we went up the St. Johns River over torpedoes where we saw three sad mementos of their terrible work.  We came back too and were not injured.  The same is true of other danger.  I have been kept thus far and trust I may.  You will write me your long love letters and tell me how you are and how you look.  Did I say I would send you some Flowers?  Here is an Oleander bud a Verbicum, "something else", a live Oak leaf, a Magnolia leaf and flower.  I love you very much and would give a dollar to kiss you once.  You may look for me home in a year or less.  I should like to come very much sooner.  Be a good little wife and live as much as you can.

 

----Your Sumner----    A S D

 

The Magnolia flower has turned red I wont send this.  I will put in an Oleander bud

 

 

 

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