ALS
8 pp.
August 18th, 1862
Letter from Charles N. Tenney to Adelaide E. Case
Charles writes to Addie from camp in Culpepper Court House, Virginia, of his
regiment's busy preparations and, thanks to Addie's letters, his peaceable state
of mind. He reports that he has formally asked Addie's father for her hand in
marriage, and enthusiastically quotes her his positive reply (though with the
caveat "unless that I shall learn of some dishonor attached to you, or her"). He
apologizes to "his Queen" for making the request without telling her in advance.
Changing the subject, Charles goes on to defend McClellan's tactics, stating
that he has recovered from a momentary disappointment in the General, and
predicts that England will not intervene on the Confederate side because of the
fact of a bad grain crop, along with the threat of Irish and Canadian rebellion
and French retaliation. Charles avers that he is prepared to give his life for
the cause of Union, but with Addie's prayers on his side, God shall protect him.
He praises Addie for firmly disciplining Miss Lizzie. In closing Charles
recounts a dream wherein he feels a "soft, warm hand upon his brow", enters a
curtained chamber, and shares a passionate embrace and kiss with his beloved.
The romantic scene ends in slapstick when Charles wakes suddenly, treading on a
comrade's toes, with a "great big bug [falling] upon my nose." "I feel that
loving kiss still -- so warm and genial," he writes. "Wasn't it a funny dream?"
He says he has enclosed a flower he picked on the battlefield.
