Letter of Benjamin Sherwood Hedrick to Mary Ellen Hedrick, October 22, 1856
Title
Letter of Benjamin Sherwood Hedrick to Mary Ellen Hedrick, October 22, 1856
Creator
Benjamin Sherwood Hedrick
Source
"Letter from Benjamin Sherwood Hedrick to his Wife Mary Ellen Hedrick, October 22, 1856," Benjamin Sherwood Hedrick's Views on Slavery and Dismissal from the University, Documenting the American South, The University Library, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, http://www.docsouth.unc.edu/unc/unc08-23/unc08-23.html (accesssed on February 13, 2012).
Date
1856-10-22
Contributor
Miller, Jennifer
Type
Document
Original Format
Correspondence
Text
Davidson County, N.C.
Oct. 22, 1856
My dear Wife,
It is now just dark, and I am at Adam's. I came to Lexington today on the freight train, and walked out here. Adam is going with me directly to take the cars at Lexington. I will go to Greensboro, where I expect to stop till tomorrow evening. They made a good deal of disturbance on my account in Salisbury last night, tho' they did no damage except to frighten pretty bad the women folks at Mr Rankin's. The outbreak was much worse than any that occurred at at Chapel Hill. Father was with me, and if they had made an assault upon me there would have been pretty tough times. After the attack I thought it would be useless for me to remain any longer, as it might excite the people still more. In fact I have come to the conclusion that it would be folly for me to make any further attempt at pacification. A good many people in Salisbury are very friendly towards me, but those who are against me are perfectly mad. They have not read my letter and will not read it. Mr. Rankin is very much affraid that the days of the Union are numbered, and it would be as were the same state of things existing all over the South which there is from Salisbury South. At Charlotte they have already begun to organise military companies to march against the North. Mr. Rankin told me that even the presbyterian preachers in South Carolina are mad for disunion. Mr R. has strong notions of leaving Salisbury and retiring to some seclusive mountain district, where he would be somewhat secure against the ravages of civil war whenever it shall come. I do not think however the danger is as great as it is supposed. Mr. Tawbs from the Eastern part of the state had not even heard of my letter while at home, and I think it more than probably that nine tenths of the people know nothing of it, or the threatened dissolution of the union. If there were some harmless means of making the disunionists come out and show themselves they would be scared at their own in-significance. The danger is that by continued clamor they will present a state of things which will lead to final alienation of the different sections of the Union.
I expect to leave Greensboro in the cars to-morrow night
Good bye, may
God bless you my love,
B. S. Hedrick
Oct. 22, 1856
My dear Wife,
It is now just dark, and I am at Adam's. I came to Lexington today on the freight train, and walked out here. Adam is going with me directly to take the cars at Lexington. I will go to Greensboro, where I expect to stop till tomorrow evening. They made a good deal of disturbance on my account in Salisbury last night, tho' they did no damage except to frighten pretty bad the women folks at Mr Rankin's. The outbreak was much worse than any that occurred at at Chapel Hill. Father was with me, and if they had made an assault upon me there would have been pretty tough times. After the attack I thought it would be useless for me to remain any longer, as it might excite the people still more. In fact I have come to the conclusion that it would be folly for me to make any further attempt at pacification. A good many people in Salisbury are very friendly towards me, but those who are against me are perfectly mad. They have not read my letter and will not read it. Mr. Rankin is very much affraid that the days of the Union are numbered, and it would be as were the same state of things existing all over the South which there is from Salisbury South. At Charlotte they have already begun to organise military companies to march against the North. Mr. Rankin told me that even the presbyterian preachers in South Carolina are mad for disunion. Mr R. has strong notions of leaving Salisbury and retiring to some seclusive mountain district, where he would be somewhat secure against the ravages of civil war whenever it shall come. I do not think however the danger is as great as it is supposed. Mr. Tawbs from the Eastern part of the state had not even heard of my letter while at home, and I think it more than probably that nine tenths of the people know nothing of it, or the threatened dissolution of the union. If there were some harmless means of making the disunionists come out and show themselves they would be scared at their own in-significance. The danger is that by continued clamor they will present a state of things which will lead to final alienation of the different sections of the Union.
I expect to leave Greensboro in the cars to-morrow night
Good bye, may
God bless you my love,
B. S. Hedrick
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Benjamin Sherwood Hedrick , Letter of Benjamin Sherwood Hedrick to Mary Ellen Hedrick, October 22, 1856, Civil War Era NC, accessed April 19, 2024, https://cwnc.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/items/show/261.