Augusta County: John H. Cochran to His Mother,
February 14, 1861
Summary:
Cochran predicts that the war with the North will begin in less than sixty days.
Mother
February 14th 61
Richmond
Dear Mother
Yours came duly to hand. You ask if I had written you a letter previous to the one which you answered? Yes I wrote the next day after my arrival here. And put it in the Post Office myself.
The reason I did not get a cockade with yellow pendants for Frank was because
there were none ready made at the time I mailed my letter. So I sent such a one as I could get. It answers
all the purposes of one with the yellow and signifies the same thing. You ask if
things do not look more like peace. I think not the air is redolant with the
fumes of powder and I believe we will have war with the North in less than sixty
days. If Virginia refuses to go out there will be a revolution in this state
which will be the special wonder of the world and go down to posterity as the
bloodiest picture in the book of time. I have said before and I say now that I
will be free and will maintain my rights even though I have to fight "looking a
halter gallantly in the face." I am a man who knows my rights and knowing dare
maintain. One of those rights is secession but if the convention
[page 2]
refuses to give us that there is another which I will maintain even at the foot
of the gallows and that is rebellion. Rebellion has its [unclear:
horrors
] so [deleted: does] has any other war. But like that gallant
Henry who rose in rebellion against the mightiest
empire on earth my words are "give me liberty or give me death." Tell Frank that
I will have the tobacco sent up by the Express Friday morning so that he can get
it any time after your receipt of this. I am very sorry that I could not see
Mrs. McChesney. As I have the [unclear:
vanity
] to class her among the best of my friends.
Give my respects to all and believe me your affectionate son
John H. Cochran
