Launcelot Minor Blackford, letter
June 28, 1863
“Another indication of the reasonableness of our men is seen in the fact that last Sunday in Hagerstown the Rector of the Episcopal Church (a Yankee) with commendable independence said the usual prayer for the President of the U. S., though the house was full of C. S. soldiers. The only notice taken of it; one who was present tells me, was one officer leaving the Church. I learn that the same course was followed in Hagestown last fall. Last Sunday Gen. Ewell & other officers of rank attended the Roman Catholic Church by invitation of the priest. I think I should have done likewise, without an invitation, had I been there, though like Gen. Ewell, and Episcopalian. I do not think I could stand the ministrations of St. Paul himself, if a Black Repub'n."
Author
Name: Launcelot Minor Blackford
Unit: 1st Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, CSA
Document Information
Type: Letter
Subject(s):
- Civilian Support for the Union
Event Location: Hagerstown, Washington Co., MD
Document Origin: Chambersburg, Franklin Co., PA
Notes
Blackford served in the Rockbridge Artillery (Private), in the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia (Clerk in the Military court), and in the 24th Virginia Infantry, “William R. Terry's” Brigade, “Pickett's” division (Adjutant). Following the Civil War, Blackford returned to his pre-war position as a teacher in a high school and, in 1884, married. In 1914, Blackford passed away, leaving his wife and six children to carry on his family’s legacy.
Source
Launcelot Minor Blackford to William Matthews Blackford. June 28, 1863. Valley of the Shadow Personal Papers. Obtained from http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/papers/A0001.
