My cousin had given me some old family letters to read and I decided to share the comments from this particular letter. In today’s world, there are many comments and degrading of people since Trump was elected, but in the late 1800’s, wry comments also existed about politics. I found this letter amusing.
In regard to the President (Grant), I hope he won’t hang Jeff Davis. I think they had better put him in a cage like they would a wild animal and take him around the world for a show dressed in petticoats, or perhaps you think they had better skin him and stuff his skin as he is a dangerous person. Melvin thinks he ought to be fed on raw cornmeal and rotten meat like the rebels fed the prisoners down south. He says I must tell you that Jeff Davis is a chap that would be an old woman if he could, but as he can’t, does all he can to show the world he’s not a man, but I have no doubt but Andy will try to do the right thing with all.
Jeff Davis had been the Confederate President during the civil war. He had treated prisoners of war terrible. The newspaper had made comic characters about him with headlines about him dressed like a woman in an effort to escape capture. Contrary to the papers, Davis had wore his wife’s shawl over his head and a poncho due to the weather.
clawingmywayin 