tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5326223780463850836.post9182429672163521806..comments2023-10-11T09:12:39.054-05:00Comments on The Trans-Mississippian: "times are hard here and a fair prospect of being worse[.]"Jane Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11723064098756475302noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5326223780463850836.post-34579471178307287452010-10-30T09:54:46.926-05:002010-10-30T09:54:46.926-05:00One of the most interesting points in the letter t...One of the most interesting points in the letter to me is Bass' comment about his fears of returning Confederate soldiers AFTER the war is over. I found a similar concern in the journal of James G. Fanning of Gonzales County, Texas. He wrote this immediately after he heard that Vicksburg had fallen: "If we should finally succeed, in addition to a debt, which if repudiated will stamp us with eternal disgrace—if recognized will paralyze the energies of our people during many years—then will be returned upon us a body of men, familiar with blood, their habits of industry, destroyed—their moral education lost, their sensibilities blunted, moral lepers are a curse to any community. This I regard as the most favorable termination possible. And I would not that my children should have such associates." (unpublished manuscript, Pearce Collection, Navarro College, Corsicana, Texas). Has anyone else come across similar concerns?<br /><br />Vicki Betts<br />University of Texas at Tyler LibraryVicki Bettshttp://www.uttyler.edu/vbettsnoreply@blogger.com