Tillotson, George W., 1830-1918 To his wife

Continued January 3 ["Dec."]. Written in pencil. Increasing strictness of the colonel for infractions, mentions that soldier mutilating himself (cutting off thumb) was court-martialed and sentenced to hard labor and half-pay for rest of service, marching orders given then countermanded. Regarding the war and Fredericksburg: "No; as I said before I dont believe this war will ever end by fighting. It is not the rebels at the North that troubles us but the rebels here, as the irishman says 'right finenst [sic] us.' You need not blame Burnside for not succeeding for he did as well probably as McClelan [sic] or anybody else would, and his troops all fought well but the Rebels fought well too besides haveing impregnable fortifications to shield them. You at the North, read our northern papers, and believe them probably, when they say the rebel army is nothing but a mob, without discipline, patriotism, or hope of sucess, but we here know that they lie, and we have good reason for believeing that the rebels are as patriotic and con[s]cientious in the justness of their cause and as determined to defend it as the patriots of the Revolution were theirs. But then you see the papers are not allowed to tell the truth in such matters nor the telegraphs to transmit any news unless they make it all favorable to our side. I tel[l] you that the rebels will fight to the last and that they have got the advantage of position, and that they know how to keep it, and that if they are ever forced to submit, what blood has been shead is only 'a drop in the bucket' to what will have to be shead. I know it is not a promising picture to contemplate[,] still it may as well be looked at in the true light. You cant tell much about the true sentiments of our soldiers by the army newspapers corrispondents [sic] but then they have to misrepresent us in order to have their corrispondence published[.] If the folks at the north find out what we soldiers think and talk among ourselves we shall have to write it ourselves."