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          To General Wistar

              General,
                We earnestly, tear_

fully, prayerfully entreat, that you will remove from us the re_ quirement, of taking the oath.

          It is not the treasure which

moth & rust doth destroy, that our agonized hearts rebel at leaving, for in this sense, much that was valuable, has been long since taken away, but we cannot without bitterest, deepest anguish leave the homes of our childhood, the scenes of our youth, those grassy mounds, & Oh! Holy Dust how can we give thee up _all that is left, to some bereaved hearts, of what made life joyous.

          In yr. dying hour, that hour which must

come alike to all, the Good, the Wise, the Great, as well as to the lowly, this thought will come that you exercised the noblest gift & perogative of a soldier clemency. Yes this remembrance will help to light the dark valley, through

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which we all must pass.

          Taking the oath may be to us a temptation

to assist the Confederates, for Satan is aware of the weak points in human nature & like an experienced General, knows when & where to attack, & it is a truth well known to us that when we are forbidden to pursue any line of conduct, that path we are most eager to follow.

          The Confederates in Williamsburg

are as to numbers, a mere handful & will never give information to yr. ene_ my.

          Now General, please grant our request,

& when the present has become the past the record of the war is written & yr. name entwined with the history of yr country, that name will go down to the latest of time, in all lands, all languages, insepe rably united with a kind act, & a generous deed is surely, the most grateful tribute we can offer to Heaven.

          The precious Savior who died for us all

has given to us the Divine Evangel, contain ed in the fifth Beatitude, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain Mercy."

                 Sally M. Galt
             Reply

Let Miss Galt remain without taking the oath, & all others like her.

  Yorktown        J. Wistar