Maitland, James M. (1815-1864) to Joseph M. Maitland
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.10.100 Author/Creator: Maitland, James M. (1815-1864) Place Written: Kingston, Ohio Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 6 September 1863 Pagination: 4 p. : envelope ; 30.5 x 18.6 cm. Order a Copy
Writes to his son, "I have been frequently asked by your old friends whether it is so that you have turned abolitionist: I have upon all occasions told them that I did not think it could be possible. and, it has even been thrown up in a taunting manner. if so say so, and upon what principal the change has taken place. I presume the grounds from which the report came was that you were not a Vallandingham man... The subject of nominating a War Democrat for Governor is being agitated and on the 19th inst there is a County Convention appointed to nominate a Delegate... I am in for the project for I want to see the Democratic Party placed right on the War." Praises the recently elected Governor of Kentucky, Thomas E. Bramlett. Notes that the draft is postponed for the present. Predicts that the war will not end until "Charleston, Mobile, and the Army of the Potomac are taken." Notes that the Broad Gauge Railroad is under construction. Encloses a photograph. Includes a short note written 7 September on a separate small piece of paper.
Joseph Maitland enlisted on 8 August 1862 as a private. He was mustered into "G" Co. OH 95th Infantry. He was mustered out 31 May 1865 at Memphis, Tennessee.
Clement Vallandigham was a Peace Democratic, or Copperhead, who openly criticized Lincoln and the War, believing that war should not be used as a means to prevent the South's secession. Lincoln banished Vallandigham in May 1863, and shortly thereafter Vallandigham traveled to Canada, where he ran a campaign for Governor of Ohio. He lost the campaign and returned to the United States in 1864, violating the military's court order.
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