Letter from William Henry Seward to Frances Miller Seward, November 26, 1863
xml:
Letter from William Henry Seward to Frances Miller Seward, November 26,
1863
transcriber
Transcriber:spp:nwh
student editorTranscriber:spp:srr
Distributor:Seward Family Digital Archive
Institution:University of Rochester
Repository:Rare Books and Special Collections
Date:1863-11-26
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Letter from William Henry Seward to Frances Miller Seward, November 26, 1863
action: sent
sender: William Seward
Birth: 1801-05-16
Death: 1872-10-10
location: Washington D.C., US
receiver: Frances Seward
Birth: 1805-09-24
Death: 1865-06-21
location: Auburn, NY
transcription: nwh
revision: crb 2018-01-31
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Page
1
Department of State
Washington, Thanksgivinge
Thanksgiving was on Thursday, November 26 in 1863.
1863
My dearest Frances,
In the hurry of disposing of two weeks
foreign mails I seem to myself to have
been inattentive to your letters and Fanny's
detailing from day to day the pains troubles
and apprehension of our own household in
which every one was suffering from sickness.
Williams
but I must hope that he is convalescing,
since a serious fever must be expected
to hold him down to his bed under
a relapse. For the rest I trust you
all are returned to united health.
It is a bright and balmy morning,
The Department is closed. We have excell-
ent news from Grant
quite assure us of Burnsides
Page
2
altogether it seems enough to warrant us against
great disaster in Tennessee.
No one knows how wearsome
this dealing with war is to me. I
have little of the passions I think that
make war even when successful a
pleasurable excitement. If I endure it
better than many I think it is because
I regard it as an evil that could
not be avoided and that is appoint-
ed by a mysterious Providence for
discipline and motivation. Every
day however I find myself asking
the question, cannot I now leave it
to others, and be exempt from the
consciousness of having shrunk from a
proper duty.
Col Townsend
to Williams claim excusing himself on
the ground that the Secretarys privileges
covered the whole case and rendered
Page
3
any thing on his part unnecessary.
Your own Henry.
Page
4
Department of State
Washington, Thanksgivinge
Editorial Note
My dearest Frances,
In the hurry of disposing of two weeks
foreign mails I seem to myself to have
been inattentive to your letters and Fanny's
Birth: 1844-12-09 Death: 1866-10-29
detailing from day to day the pains troubles
and apprehension of our own household in
which every one was suffering from sickness.
Williams
Birth: 1839-06-18 Death: 1920-04-29
care is fearfully tedious,but I must hope that he is convalescing,
since a serious fever must be expected
to hold him down to his bed under
a relapse. For the rest I trust you
all are returned to united health.
It is a bright and balmy morning,
The Department is closed. We have excell-
ent news from Grant
Birth: 1822-04-27 Death: 1885-07-23
. But it does notquite assure us of Burnsides
Birth: 1824-05-23 Death: 1881-09-13
safety,altogether it seems enough to warrant us against
great disaster in Tennessee.
No one knows how wearsome
this dealing with war is to me. I
have little of the passions I think that
make war even when successful a
pleasurable excitement. If I endure it
better than many I think it is because
I regard it as an evil that could
not be avoided and that is appoint-
ed by a mysterious Providence for
discipline and motivation. Every
day however I find myself asking
the question, cannot I now leave it
to others, and be exempt from the
consciousness of having shrunk from a
proper duty.
Col Townsend
Birth: 1817-08-22 Death: 1893-05-10
has privately quelledto Williams claim excusing himself on
the ground that the Secretarys privileges
covered the whole case and rendered
any thing on his part unnecessary.
Your own Henry.