Letter, 23 January 1861, John Mayo Oliver (1838-1863) to James Risque Hutter (1841-1923)

Letter, 23 January 1861, John Mayo Oliver (1838-1863) to James Risque Hutter (1841-1923)

A friend of James Risque Hutter, John Mayo Oliver writes to him informing him that he has not been able to write due to school. Hutter’s friend also describes political meetings that some of the Lexington townsfolk had been attending as well as parties. Oliver talks about how one meeting was about secession and the South’s relations with the Union.

John Mayo Oliver (1838-1863) Killed in action near Wytheville, Va., 18 July 1863.

Persons mentioned in this letter:

Archibald Hatchett Gregory (1840-1897) or William Robert Gregory (1840-1905)

William T. Fry (1840-1898)

William Harvie Bray (1839-1863) Mortally wounded in Pickett’s Charge, Battle of Gettysburg, 3 July 1863.

John Heth (1839-1862) Mortally wounded at the Battle of First Kernstown, died 24 March 1862.

Rev. Dr. William Spotswood White (1800-1873), Minister of Lexington Presbyterian Church

Judge John White Brockenbrough (1806-1877), Founder of Washington & Lee Law School

James Woods Massie (1826-1872), Adjunct Professor of Mathematics, Virginia Military Institute

Old Junks = Rev. George Junkin, President of Washington College from 1846 to 1861 

Donated by Stannard Preston

Historic Sandusky-University of Lynchburg

23 January 1861

Transcribed by Emma Coffey
Additional research by Byron Faidley

Permission to publish or reproduce required
inquire at info@historicsandusky.org

en-US

Lexington Va

Jan. 23^rd 1861

Dear Risque

            Your very welcome letter was received several weeks since, and indeed I owe you an apology for my long delay in answering it. My will was not wanting I assure you but owing to the length of our lectures and the heavy just of reading which the Judge and Col Massie have persistently imposed upon us we have had but little time at our disposal, and beides the above reason such has been the disturbed & and excited state of every thing around us, owing to the present condition of political affairs that I was not aware that so long a time had elapsed since the reception of your letter. This old fogy town has been gayer this winter than I ever knew it & indeed I think it is becoming a quite respectable place in spite of all Dr. Whites and old Junks preaching about its immorality and devilishness. We had only three days suspension of actures during the Christmas but I never spent a more glorious time as there seemed to be a general inclination throughout the whole of the county to get on one tremendous frolick and you know although such proceeding was decidedly against my politics yet I had to join them as a fellow “when in Rome has to do what Rome does.” Mr. Cameron gave a party and as he has a son in the law class, all of us were invited. I went & as there was a plenty of all the necessary elements for fun viz. whiskey girls, etc. I had a glorious time. Mat White, Paxton and Old Lam Moore gave others & as I was so fortunate as to be expected. I succeeded in getting my share of the sport. since the 10 or 13th of the month nothing has occurred in the immediate vicinity of a social character to enliven the town. Politics however has been raging high, & it seems that every one has drank so deeply of party spirit (double rectified) that the whole town is in a state of political “delirium tremens.” It is not however, that spirit of ‘76 which animated our noble forefathers to resist a tyranny which would grind them into dust & reduce them to a state of abject slavery, which like good old Rye you know Risque makes a fellow forget his cares drown his woes, inspires generosity & brotherly love & leave him fresh, buoyant and without a headache, but a selfish, demon like spirit which would rather bury themselves & drag others along with them into a common grave, than to meet a just & generous rivalry, & which (to finish my simile) like this “Jersey lightning” which you know may be bought at the Lexington Exchange, makes a fellow climb chimneys, tear down peach trees, raise knots in his head against old stable boys, & want to turn out at every cross road he finds because he thinks it goes to Lynchburg. Yes Risque Lexington is becoming the Sodom as well as the Bedlam I think of Va in politics if nothing else. But to be more explicit; by stating reasons for coming to the above conclusions. The people have been holding meetings in this modern Athens as well through the whole county in which sentiments have been expressed and resolutions adopted which were sufficient to make the blood of indignation rush to any true southern man cheek & which should strain any Virginian with a brand of infamy deeper than Cain’s. In one precinct a solution was passed stating that they would not resist federal troops marching through Va to coerce S. Carolina, & condemning her as a traitor to the Union. In L. these Southern abolitionists have gone further, and advocated a split of the state if Eastern Va should not agree in convention to change the legation of taxation & in one of these meetings the right honorable Maj. Ball with all his pomposity had the boldness to say that there is more congeniality of feeling and interest between the people of Pennsylvania and Western Va than there is between W. Va and the Eastern part of the state & to intimate that it would be better to draw a dividing line along the Blue Ridge. I blushed for the buttons when I heard it. They did not succeed in passing any resolution, as their meeting broke up in a general row. There was about 50 cadets college and law students in the gallery of the C. House & we worried the poor devils no little. Dr. Jordan was on the stand & attempted to get off a curl on Washington farmers exclamation about planting the “Standard and on mountains of west Augusta,” but unfortunately got balked & when he said the mountains of the mountains of – I bawled out = “of Heperdam” & some one else near me followed with - “and yes you use the whangdoodle” which brought down the House & shortly after on Frank Paxton’s giving three loud cheers for S. Carolina. The whole affair broke up in a general row as I have before said. Judge Brokenbrough has been chosen one of four commissioners to meet commissioners from the other states in the Union in Washington on the 4^th of next month. He has also accepted the nomination from the state convention to assemble on the 13^th. I have enclosed you his letter of acceptance, which will no doubt be of some interest to you. There is nothing of especial interest going on at the V.M.I at present. I suppose you have heard that Dick Bray, Jack Heth & Gregory were shipped for violating the 125^th article of the regulation which means you know – getting slightly D____K [drunk] at or near the V.M. Institute on or about such a day. Gregory has gone home. Heth and Bray are in Richmond at a meeting of the Board. Fry is in Lexington at present. He is looking well & says he has been having a fine time. Old L____ is not married yet; but the cherry is in a swell pickle yet. Excuse haste, and all mistakes etc. as I haven’t time to look over & write soon to your friend and old classman

                                                                                          Jno. M. Oliver