53rd Pennsylvania Volunteers, Co. K Newsletter
Autumn                                                                                                   November 1, 2002
Opening Notes
Sorry for missing the Newsletter last month. Between a computer crash, trips to the hospital and the veterinarian, I have been a bit busy. I'll try to get on a regular schedule now that things seem to be settling down again.
The 140th Antietam was just a typical large event. It had a lot of potential, however, the "capture the flag" mentality took over during some of the scenarios, which caused them to completely fall apart and look just plain silly. The site was laid out well, but the selfishness of a few groups (e.g., "we'll win this time, bye-gum," and "but I really need my car in camp," etc.) messed up the event for many of the participants. Hoarding of wood was also a serious problem. One group refused to participate in a scenario because they didn't have firewood. As it turned out, the reason for the shortage of firewood was due to hoarding by other members of the same organization. Later on Saturday, this same group threatened tow truck operators who were removing cars from camp in compliance with the event rules. After my experience with this event, I am probably through with large battle reenactments for a while and will concentrate on the smaller living histories.
Interesting Stuff
The following is Part 2 of an article from the May, 1876, Atlantic Monthly. It consists of a series of letters from a Massachusetts officer's wife who goes to Washington to care for her husband after he is wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness in May of 1864.
The article provides a very good description of conditions and life in a Washington General Hospital. I thought it was very interesting and provided a perspective of the Civil War that many people do not often consider.
From The Atlantic Monthly, May, 1876.
AFTER THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS.
Letters From A Hospital.
Letter X. - From Alonzo Colcord to Miss Fessenden.
____Hospital, Philadelphia,
May 20, 1864.
Miss Fessenden, - I will now report myself to you, and I will commence by trying to give you a faint impression of this hospital. I do wish that I could do it justice. I shall not attempt to give you a plan of this hospital, for I cannot. It holds three thousand men, when full. The wards accommodate sixty men each, and range from A to X, and then they go by numbers. The wards are plastered on the outside. We have cold and hot water every day, and in plenty.
The rules and regulations are altogether different here from those at Washington. When the doctor comes in we have all our clothes on the foot of the beds; the ward-master calls for us, "Attention! Salute! Rest!" The doctor has a book, and when one wants any medicine, he puts the number of the bed down, and goes from one to another in the same way. The ward-master makes out the extra diet. We have no lady nurses in the wards, but are not without females, for we have the "Sisters" to look out for the sick, and they are very kind to all. The sick get better care than the wounded. The doctors do not seem to look out very well for the wounded, as those used to at Mead Hospital. We have only two attendants in this ward, and they have as much as they can do.
When we first came here there was nothing in the ward but the beds, and they are poor ones. We have a new ward-master; he is from the "bush," as the sailor said, so he is afraid to do anything but what is "orders." He came in one morning and said, -
"Men, I want this ward to look as well as any in the house."
We have sport, to see how green these new ones are.
Now I will say a word or two about our rations. We do not live near as well as we did at Washington. The men find great deal of fault, but are looking forward to the day when their time will expire. Our cooking is all done by steam. The hospital has an engine to heat water and cook. This hospital is carried on by contract. ____ draws the money from government and buys the rations himself; so he is making a large pile out of it.
As for the out-buildings, we have a barber's shop, printing-office, chapel, and reading-room; the last mentioned is fitted up in good style; they have all kinds of reading that is good, and a plenty of fiction. In this room there is a billiard table and all kinds of games. The most splendid thing that I have seen is a glass case with a fountain full of fishes. I should like for you to see it; you could not help admiring it.
We have good air, for we are on a high hill; but, to tell the truth, I do not like it here, for a fence of twenty feet high incloses the grounds and prevents our seeing anything, and the wards are so close together that the hospital looks like a prison more than anything else.
The wounded are coming in here by hundreds. Miss Fessnesden, I am thinking what a hard time you are having now, for the wounded are crowding the hospitals. You must not make yourself sick by working too hard.
I saw one of my company that was wounded. My regiment is almost gone. How I feel, to hear of my comrades melting away like snow, before the destructive fire of the enemy! This is a most beautiful day; the sun shines brightly; and I am thinking how our poor soldiers are fighting this day, and I am finding fault in the rear when I should be thankful to be so well off.
My wound is very troublesome now; it is all healed up, but pains me very much. I think it will trouble me all summer. I had a very hard time coming on to Philadelphia in the cars. I was about played out, and have not been very well since; this is the reason that I have not written to you before.
One thing more: James Brown, who belongs to the ____ Maine regiment, Company D, wanted me to request you to ask Dr. Stedman whether he should get his discharge here; it was made out at the Mead Hospital, and signed by Stedman. By so doing you will oblige him much, and when you write let me know the verdict. So now adieu for this time. Please write as soon as you can. I think this quite a long letter, and you must excuse all mistakes, for I do not pretend to write a perfect letter.
From your friend,
Alonzo Colcord.
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Letter XI. - To Mary Lawrence.
May 25, 1864, Wednesday, p.m.
My dear Mary, - Yesterday I was delighted to see Mrs. ____ enter the ward. It is a year since her brave husband died for his country. She has come to Washington to be nearer her brother during the summer campaign, and is as beautiful and fascinating as ever. Mrs. ____ has been in the habit of visiting this ward when in Washington, as she knows Miss Fessenden, who says, "The whole ward brightens when she enters."
The six o'clock train brought two mothers to ward seventeen: one is a sad, quiet-looking woman, whose son will die; the other woman is noisy and loud-talking; fortunately her son is in the upper end of the ward; he is doing well, and will soon be carried home.
Ames's leg was amputated yesterday afternoon; he seems very weak; the flies trouble him; I must fan them away, and finish my letter to-morrow.
May 26th.
Ames has had a chill. Miss Fessenden tries in vain to tempt his appetite with the good things that have been sent to her. Dr. Stedman himself makes very large requisitions upon the Sanitary Commission, but does not allow the ladies in his hospital to make requisitions upon that or any agency in Washington. Now almost all supplies of linen, etc., are sent to the front, and every three or four days the hospital supply gives out; for tent wards are continually being added, and the number of patients increases faster than the extra supplies arrive. Owing to the interest felt in the ward by former patients, Miss Fessenden has had boxes of supplies sent directly to her, and says that in the crowded state of the hospital the patients could not have been made comfortable without them; and she is able to send things to the tent wards.
I was silly enough to ask Miss Fessenden, who is from Maine, if the Massachusetts women had not done more for the soldiers than those of any other State. It amused her intensely. She said everybody knew that the Massacusetts women had done splendidly, and so had those of the other States; but if she could choose the State on which to make her requisitions, it would be Connecticut, for never had she seen such and fine old linen, such lint, and all sorts of useful things, as the Connecticut ladies sent. Then Miss Fessenden told me a great deal about the Massachusetts women in Washington, how much they had done for the wounded, and said that she herself owed whatever skill she possessed in taking care of the wounded to the instructions of a Boston lady, with whom she spent some time in a hospital during the early days of the war.
I hope your mother receives regularly my daily report of Albert's progress.
With love to all, your loving sister,
Mabel.
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Letter XII. - To Mary Lawrence.
May 27, 1864.
My dear Mary, - The ward has seemed a sadder place to-day than before. There has been hardly a moment when there were not moans to be heard. Miss Fessenden tells me that the men never arrived in better spirits, but she has never before heard so many groans, and has never been in the ward of a surgeon who really devoted all his time to the patients, as Dr. Gardner does. Do the men groan more when the surgeon stays in the ward?
Throughout the hospital the wounds have not done as well as usual. Some of the men fought so long that they were exhausted before they were wounded, and then came the terrible journey in the ambulances; it is not surprising that they do not rally quickly.
There is in the ward a New Hampshire lieutenant whose case seems a very sad one; he is apparently in great distress of mind, and to-day asked to see the chaplain, who is ill and unable to leave his house; but fortunately a minister visited the ward this morning. One need not be in want of a spiritual advisor here, for men connected with the Christian Commission come every day; a Catholic priest, who looks like, and is said to be, a very good, kind man, is also a daily visitor; the Rev. Mr. Channing calls occasionally, and would come any time when sent for.
Once to-day there has been a hearty laugh at the expense of Lieutenant B____, a very peculiar man, with a long, thick beard. He is said to have been a Pennsylvania school-master before the war. It happened that Dr. Gardner, Miss Fessenden, and the ward-master were all out of the ward at the same moment. Lieutenant B____ requested the attendants to bring him his clothes. This they refused to do without an order from Dr. Gardner; he insisted, but to no purpose; and then with great difficulty - for he has a wound in one leg, - he let himself down from the bed to the floor, and , in his shirt and drawers, tried to make his way over the floor by hopping on his hands and one leg; but after having accomplished the length of two or three beds he was obliged to give up, and was ingloriously carried back to bed by the attendants.
Lieutenant B____ cannot do anything without making a little flourish. here is the copy of a note he sent to Miss Fessenden, with two letters to be put in the office: -
Dear Madam, - Feeling that you are the soldier's friend, not only their friend but their very guardian angel, gliding along sylph-like, supplying and anticipating our wants, - nay, the very spirit of the institution, all working through you so noiseless and so uniform, permit me, then, to request that you will direct the mailing of these letters; then I shall be sure they are not mislaid.
Yours respectfully,
John B____.
Mrs. ____sent some very nice-looking jelly to-day. Miss Fessenden gave me some to carry to a bright-looking boy, who was sitting up in bed. He seemed to enjoy it, and I asked him if he liked it. He said he did, very much, but added, "Nothing ever tastes so good to me as what my mother makes, even if it is made of just as nice things."
As Miss Fessenden was cutting up the roast beef for a wounded man's dinner, I heard him say to her, "No one can complain of the treatment he receives here; I don't know as any one could be better treated."
I must say good-bye, and attend to Albert. Our joint love to all.
Mabel.
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Letter XIII. To Mary Lawrence
May 28, 1864.
My dear Mary, - I went to market at an early hour this morning to purchase some fresh rolls for Albert's breakfast, and tried to find something that Ames could eat, but did not succeed.
Mrs. ____comes regularly every forenoon, and brings whatever any patient particularly wants; sometimes it is sweet, fresh butter and home-made bread; at another time ice-cream or oranges; this morning she brought a basket of new-laid eggs. Her visit is the cheeriest incident of the day.
Last night Mrs. Damon - the quiet mother - watcher beside her son. It was thought he would not live through the night, but he does not seem weaker this morning. It is another case of pyaemia, which is said to be almost an epidemic now. His color is a decided yellow.
Dr. Gardner is beginning to show the effects of his constant work over wounds. He came to this hospital from the field, ill of pus poisoning, and, finding how great a need there was for more surgeons here, he stayed instead of returning home. He is rarely out of the ward from morning until night, and attends to the dressing of the wounds himself, which is an unusual thing for a surgeon to do. I think it is in consequence of his judicious care that Albert has got on so well. The fear that Dr. Gardner may be obliged to return home on account of his own health makes me wish to leave Washington. I have talked with the doctor about it, and he thinks we may do so in ten days, perhaps sooner, if Albert continues to improve. Dr. Gardner thinks the risk of moving will be more than counterbalanced by the benefit of pure air and the quiet of home.
One young fellow is already on his crutches. He would not stay in bed, but when no one was looking would get out, and, with the stump of his left leg resting in a sling suspended from his neck, would travel all over the lower part of the ward on his hands and foot. A day or two ago Dr. Gardner ordered some crutches for him, and he began to walk, with a man on each side to keep him steady: to-day he walked with the assistance of only one man, but he still lifts his leg very high. At first his attire consisted of shirt and drawers; but since he has had his crutches he has added to it an embroidered artillery jacket and a little round cap.
Mrs. ____ has sent Miss Fessenden a rolling chair for the use of the ward. One man, who has been in it several times, to-day, is perfectly delighted with it. He looks with admiration on the wheels, pats them, and wonders what the chair cost; thinks he shall get the worth of the money out of it himself.
Some of the patients are sliding into the half-unconscious state that usually comes before death; many others are full of hope and bright anticipations of the pleasures to be enjoyed when they can go home on a furlough.
With best love to the dear grandmother and baby.
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Letter XIV. - To Mary Lawrence.
Sunday, May 29, 1864.
My dear Mary, - I have been tonight with Miss Fessenden to visit the quarters of the colored people who work in the laundry, etc. A prayer-meeting was going on. One man made some remarks in which he endeavored to impress it upon his hearers that they owed their freedom to Almight God alone. He said that Abraham Lincoln had only done what God Almighty made him do; then he prayed that "de Lord would touch ebery heart wid de finger ub his love." Another man prayed that "de Lord would ride his conqueren horse down in Dixie dis a'ternoon, dis ebening'!" Then he spoke of the time when an old man used to come round preaching to them in the night, because he did not dare to come in the day-time; and when he was caught he was nearly murdered.
We could not stay until the meeting was over, as Miss Fessenden thought she must return to her ward; but before we came away we went up-stairs to see the quarters for the women. The entire second story is made into one rough room; here all the women and children sleep. We found four old women, who were attending to their children, getting babies to sleep and making attempts to undress the older children, who, in frolic, would contrive to slip out of their reach and race about the room.
Two or three candles made the room just light enough to give a sort of weird, fantastic look to the whole scene. The women seemed very much pleased to see us. One of the old women was very much excited and talked very earnestly, throwing up her arms as she spoke; the others gathered around her, one by one, until they formed a half-circle of which she was the centre. She told us a good deal of her own experience. She saw Jackson kill Ellsworth. "Was mighty sorry sorry for de colonel," but was so glad when Jackson was killed that she could not help shouting "Victory!" for she thought the Lord had come to deliver them. At that time she got away and was free, and what she earned was her own. She said it was parting with their children, and never knowing what became of them, that broke their hearts. She has sons and daughters. I asked if they were with her. She answered, -
"Oh no, missus! They are sold, sold, sold down South!"
The sons were carried off, she did not know where; but, "T'ank de Lord!" she had her daughter Eliza to look at. And there was "Mister Lincoln;" just think what he had done for them; and ought n't they to praise him and be grateful to him? "Deed they had!" She prayed for him every day, and would as long as she lived, and hoped that in the next world she could see him. And then to think of the ladies who had left their homes to come and take care of the soldiers; and to think what the Yankees had done for the poor colored people! Ought n't they to thank the Lord and trust him? I would have liked to stay longer, but as we could not we shook hands all round, and left.
On our way out we met a colored woman leading a little girl. Upon the very top of the child's head stood a little pug of tightly-braided hair tied with a red string. The woman explained that the child's palate troubled her by dropping down, and that it was a cure for it to braid very tightly a certain lock of the hair on the very top of the head.
I have written this evening in the ward. Albert joins me in love to all our dear ones at home, whom we hope soon to see.
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Letter XV. - To Mary Lawrence.
May 31, 1864.
My dear Mary, - ? Ames's bed is already occupied by another, a young man of twenty-two years, who was brought in yesterday. He is a magnificent, soldierly-looking man, with fine face, and light-brown hair that curls slightly around his forehead. He has a compound fracture of the thigh, and his recovery is very doubtful. He lies almost all the time with his eyes closed, and seems to suffer a great deal, but makes no complaint. To-day I said to him, "You are very patient."
He replied, "I can stand more than some can," and then the tears came into his eyes.
The New Hampshire Lieutenant, whose bed was nearly opposite Albert's, died yesterday. They were giving him dinner, and everybody was busy, when I saw that there was some change in him, and spoke to Ms. Fessenden, who went directly to him, but he was dead.
This afternoon the son of that gentle woman, Mrs. Damon, passed away. For four days they supposed him dying, and for four days and nights his mother sat by his bed, sometimes talking with him, and at others reading to him. The attendants have been touchingly kind to them both. I was near Miss Fessenden's table when the mother came and asked if she might keep the little testament and Christian Commission hymn-book that she said had been a great comfort to him; of course they were given to her.
Miss Fessenden then remarked to me that she herself knew nothing of the patients except as patients; thet her all-absorbing thought was how they could be cured.
I said, "I can easily imagine that one might come to feel so, when one person is trying to do the work of two, as you now are; but it is a great privilege to be allowed to be here and to do the work that you are doing."
She replied with great earnestness, "Yes, that is exactly what it is, a great, a very great privilege to be here. there are times when the work is not as absorbing as it is now, and then the life in a ward becomes a little dreary; but there is more satisfaction in rendering a little help in the care of these wounded soldiers than in anything I ever did. It had brought a great blessing to me. It has entirely changed my feelings about death."
I asked in what way.
She answered, "in the certainty of the life beyond, that has come to me. Sometimes when a soldier has departed, it has seemed like this: that as the veil which separates the two worlds is lifted to receive the soul, before it is dropped again I have caught a glimpse of the world beyond; and I know that they themselves are there, the same men I have watched here, and that we shall meet again. It is such a comfort when one comes to realize that the very same person lives on; that dropping the body does not change the spirit, but only its surroundings. You look surprised to hear me speak so positively, but it is so real to me that I cannot help it, and it astonishes me whenever I hear one person say of another, 'I should n't be sorry if he were dead,' and such sort of sayings, as if death were the end of a person; though I must confess that I am not insensible to the present relief of having a very troublesome person taken away."
We talk every day of our return home, and long to see you all once more.
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Letter XVI. - To Mary Lawrence.
June 1, 1864.
My dear Mary, - I have had in my experience to-day more variety than usual. Finding that Miss Fessenden wished very much to go to the Sanitary Commission on an errand, but was perplexed to know how she could leave the ward in the forenoon, I asked if I might go for her.
"It would be a great relief if you would go," she replied. "Will you ask to have William Brown's descriptive list looked up? His captain was killed, and his papers have not yet been sent to this hospital. He is in great want of back pay to send to a sick wife, and the Sanitary Commission will get it for him."
She gave me a paper with the man's name, rank, company, regiment, etc., written upon it, and asked if I would do an errand at the same place for Miss Munroe.
I went to ward sixteen and learned Miss Munroe's errand, which was to ask if the Sanitary Commission would see that the discharge papers of James Bidwell, Company K, ____ Maine Volunteers, go through the War Department as soon as possible, for the man is failing and is ver anxious to live to get home.
The reason for going to the Sanitary Commission is that they can get such cases attended to at once. Some member of the commission takes the papers and carries them through the department, obtaining the necessary signatures. If these two patients waited for their turn they might have to wait for weeks. My errands were successfully accomplished.
On my return, went to Miss Munroe's ward to say that her man's case would be attended to immediately, and made her quite a long call. Her home is in Massachusetts. She is a gentle, interesting woman, and perfectly enthusiastic when she talks of the soldiers. I ventured to ask her if she did not think she saw the best side of a soldier's character.
"Oh, yes," she replied, "every man shows the best side of his character to a woman whom he respects; but who would have thought that the best side was so very fine? And I am sure I do not take an exaggerated view of their patriotism, patience, and fortitude. In all their conversations to which I have listened, I cannot recall any bitterness of feeling towards the South; it is a steady, determined devotion to the country; and this loyalty to a principle throws such a halo around them as to cast their faults of character, for the time, into the shade."
Miss Munroe is very decided in her preference of privates as patients; says the officers, unless badly wounded, do not need the care of ladies. She said, "I came for the privates, and never feel that I am doing my work when we have to take in officers. I remember at one time, when we had to take in more than twenty officers, I became so exhausted from overwork as to be confined to my room for a week. On returning I went through the ward, speaking to the patients. Each private said he was glad to see me back, and inquired how my own health was; while each officer, without a single exception, told me how glad he was that I had got back, for he had had nothing fit to eat since I left."
When I expressed surprise, she added, "Those men were not an unpleasant set, by any means; and, it is true, we had very young convalescent soldiers for attendants, who, finding the officers in their power, probably could not resist the temptation of annoying them about their meals."
As I was leaving, Miss Munroe invited me to a tea-party in the "ladies' house" to-night, saying she had this morning received a large box full of eatables from her mother, for herself and friends, so she had invited all the nurses to tea. I was happy to accept the invitation.
Albert joins me in love to yourself, mother, and the dear baby.
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Letter XVII. - To Mary Lawrence.
June 2, 1864.
My dear Mary, - I am sure you will want to know how the tea-party went off last night.
After both suppers had been given out in this ward, Miss Fessenden asked me accompany her, and, instead of going to the dining-room, went to the "ladies' house." On the way we were joined by several ladies, all hurrying in the same direction. We found Miss Monroe already in the hall, kneeling on one knee before a chair, on which was placed a board, and upon this stood two alcohol lamps; over one of them a pot of coffee was making, and a large tea-kettle of water was boiling over the other. At one side of it was a teapot; into this Miss Monroe turned the boiling water as we entered.
The little table and some boxes served as the supper table, upon which were spread delicious bread and butter that had come all the way from Massachusetts, and many other good things that motherly love and care had provided.
In a very few moments all the ladies had assembled; each one came bringing either a chair from her own room or a box from the store-room, that, turned upside down, made a very good seat.
Not a moment was lost; Miss Fessenden assisted Miss Monroe in serving the other ladies, and then, seating herself upon a keg, managed to eat her own supper, wait upon everybody, and do her share of the talking. This last it is impossible to describe, for while the company was divided into little knots, each discussing some very absorbing subject, there was at the same time a general conversation kept up in which each lady occasionally joined. There were stories told of faithful and unfaithful surgeons; of kind visitors, distinguished visitors, and visitors who were only annoying; of very interesting patients who were so disappointing on recovery, sure to get intoxicated the first time they had a pass, and of patients who had seemed nearly dead and yet got well.
Very soon the ladies began to leave; first, one who had a very sick patient whose medicines she must attend to herself, then another whose surgeon was to make his evening visit earlier than usual; and in a few minutes all had gone except Miss Fessenden, who stayed to help Miss Monroe put things in order. this somewhat picnic-like element in the life here is very attractive.
The ladies are a very pleasant set, receive no pay for their services, and seem to take a most enthusiastic interest in their work.
One thing I heard at the tea-party makes me wish to be making preparations to go home. They say that the officers are always moved into one or two wards by themselves, and there are rumors that they are to be moved in a few days. Nobody knows which wards are to be devoted to officers, but Miss Fessenden thinks this will not be one of them. I should not like Albert to have a new surgeon, neither do we wish to leave Miss Fessenden; so we shall try to get away just as soon as it will be safe for Albert. Our love to all at home.
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Letter XVIII. - To Mary Lawrence.
Saturday Evening, June 4th.
I am delighted to write you that the day for our return home is very near. We have decided to leave Washington next Monday night. Dr. Gardner thinks that Albert can bear the journey quite as well as the heat here. Colonel Tufts has called to see Albert, and will make arrangements for him to go in a hospital car, where he can lie down. Dr. Gardner has promised to see us safely into the train; and if Albert is not as well when we reach New York, or if we need any help, Colonel F.E. Howe will take care of us; so you see that we shall be well provided for.
Miss Fessenden expresses great regret that we are to leave her so soon, and we shall be very sorry to say good-bye to her. I did not think at first that we should part such good friends. She has let me copy for you a letter from a soldier's sister. He died in this ward. Miss Fessenden has known of but three cases where patients were conscious while dying, and he was one of the three. He had been very patient through long and great suffering, and when dying took each one who had taken care of him by the hand, and said to each, "Good-by; I hope to meet you in heaven." And when he could not speak, he beckoned to his mother not to look at him, his suffering distressed her so much.
I am very, very thankful my dear Mary, that I have been here. My heart aches for the women who are waiting at home. Truly, to wait is heroic; but to minister to one's nearest friend is blessed!
This is probably the last letter I shall write you from here. Can it be possible that on Wednesday I shall see you all once more! I shall have a thousand things to tell you, and can hardly wait till Wednesday before seeing my baby. Albert does not dread the journey, he so longs to see you all.
With love to out dear mother, I am your grateful and affectionate sister,
Mabel Lawrence.
Upcoming Events
Event Date Event Name Location Early Registration Fee & Due Date Additional Information
December 14, 2002 Parade of Lights Henricus Park None Chesterfield County Historical Society
I plan on starting to put together an event schedule for 2003 very soon. If you would like an event on the schedule for consideration, please let me know.
Closing Notes
If anyone has information they wish to contribute to the Newsletter, please let me know and I'll work it into the next one.
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