Viewing page 222 of 242

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

Confidential Florence Ala 
Nov. 27th. 1866,

Maj Genl Swayne,

Dear Sir,

It is not my wish to be troublesome to you or to annoy any federal officer, situated as I am is the only appology I can offer- And what I say to you in this letter will be literally true, and I wish you to bear it in mind if you do not find it so- I will here remark that in heart you will find few Union Men in the south - they are forced from circumstances to say they are this & that- Our present Gov. R. M. Patton who I suppose you will know - for he says you are in his office nearly every day - will as to him, he has spoken to the Rebel soldiers during the war & told them to go ahead, it would not be long before they would only have to pull out their tooth pick and the Yankeys would run - The Mobile Tribune says they want no union man that lives in the south to have any office- Now I do not wish any such nor any man to hold office either No or So. who cannot take the test oath - I have been imprisioned for my loyalty- I have served in the army of the U.S. as surgeon - I was first & am yet a loyal union man - and I wish to ask you to give me a small office at least one that will do until I can go to Washington & try my luck- Gov Patton, Hon. R. B. Lindsey senator from Franklin County & Mr B.E. Bourland representative from this county (Lauderale [[Lauderdale]]) will vouch to what I say - I have papers from Genl. U.S. Grant, W.T. Sherman, Hugh Ewing G.M. Dodge & I will send you a coppy of one from Col. Wickersham - I got a fall more than 12 months ago, and have not been able to walk since - so I cannot attend to my profession as Dr. so I thought if you [[strikethrough]] will [[/strikethrough]] would give me the appointment of Assistent Agent of the Freedmans Bureau of this place it would assist me since - I do not think the Bureau will be done away with for several years - the man that