Transcript (excerpt):
Page 1, Upper Half
Insubordination at Richmond – Two or Three Soldiers Shot Weekly
A letter from H. Wagener, from Camp Herman, Richmond, Va., to his gather in Charleston, found in Port Walker, contains the following passage:
“There is a fine want of system in everything they do here, and a constant uproar in the different regiments. We have in our neighborhood a battalion of cavalry, Col. Gregg’s regiment, a Polish brigade, two Louisiana regiments, and some others whom I have not thought of inquiring about, who are in a state of constant insubordination. In fact, they shoot two or three every week to keep them quiet. Our men have nothing to do with them, and are therefore universally well thought of.”
The letter ends with the following cautious postscript in pencil:
“You had better not mention about the insubordination to any one, for fear the Yankees might hear of it, and think we are, or our army is, going to grass. They’ll find themselves mightily mistaken. What makes them [weak?] is their want of a fight.”
Citation: New York Semi-Weekly Tribune. 26 November 1861. Gift of Steven and Susan Raab.