Tillotson, George W. (fl. 1830-1918) To his wife
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04558.159 Author/Creator: Tillotson, George W. (fl. 1830-1918) Place Written: Point of Rocks, [Virginia] Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 4 September 1864 Pagination: 4 p. ; 20 x 12.5 cm. Order a Copy
Continued on Sept. 6. Promoted to first sergeant, regiment moves to Fort Powhattan. Expresses his views on blacks. "I think you must have been delightfully entertained by the "darkies" to form so favorable an opinion of them. I declare you are getting to be as radical as our old Quarter Master used to be. He said he had rather his daughter would marry a negro than a white man. For My part sooner than come to that I would see the whole black rase [sic] exterminated. To be sure the negro is a human being and as such has a right to stay on the footstool, but the farther he gets from me the better it will please me."
Tillotson was thirty-one years old when he enlisted as a corporal on November 5, 1861. He mustered in H company of the NY 89th infantry or Dickinson Guards and later promoted to Sergeant. He was discharged on December 18, 1864.
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