Letter from Ellison Capers to his wife Lottie, August 14, 1864
Title
Letter from Ellison Capers to his wife Lottie, August 14, 1864
Subject
Description
Capers discusses his favorite collects or short prayers with Lottie and compares them with her favorites. He says that he cannot wait until they can pray together again. He still has a cold but is otherwise well and the shelling of Atlanta continues.
Creator
Source
A1961.1, Box 3, Folder 23
Publisher
The Citadel Archives & Museum
Date
Rights
Materials in The Citadel Archives & Museum Digital Collections are intended for educational and research use. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright. For more information contact The Citadel Archives & Museum, The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, 29409.
Relation
Ellison Capers Collection
Format
application/pdf
Language
English
Type
Text
Identifier
https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/items/show/496
Date Valid
Audience
Text
[Page 1]
In the Trenches - Atlanta Ga.
Sunday Aug. 14th 1864
My very dear wife
This day, a week ago, I was with you, and my dear little boy rode down to the cars to see me off. My own Lottie, how I miss you! This is the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. The collect for today is my favorite collect, & I have so marked it in my prayer book. I am sure that you once expressed to me a preference for the collect for the Fourth Sunday after Easter. Did you not, my Lottie? It contains the true philosophy of the Christian: devotion to the command and will of God, & a heart “fixed where true joys are to be found, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. My collect is the expression of that sincere humility and unworthiness before God, which I feel most keenly, & therefore, the collect strikes me particularly. It expresses, too, the supreme goodness & loving kindness of God so touchingly: “Who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and not want to give more than we either desire or deserve”! But I think there is more true Christian philosophy in your favorite collect than in mine. The great principal of subordinating our “unruly wills and affections” to the commands of God, is plainly taught, & the desire expressed, that amongst all of life’s
[Page 2]
trials our hearts should depend, fervently, upon God.
These two collects, the “General Confession”, the “General Thanksgiving” & the prayer of the service “for all conditions of men,” with the “Collect for Grace,” in the morning service, are my favorites in the beautiful ritual of our church. I am most impressed with them, because they are so true to the heart of human nature.
Oh! for the sweet time, when you & I will kneel, side by side, & reflect these prayers to Him who loves us, and takes care of us! I long for it. Lord Jesus, O grant us this inexpressibly precious boon.
I am quite well except my cold. This enemy, last night, shelled the city most vigorously, destroying one house, by setting it on fire. This morning, every thing is comparatively quiet. A shell has just passed over my line, on its way to the city. The people are living in cellars & bomb proofs. I will write to the Mercury to send you paper, & the Carolina in Aiken. Or darling, you do it, as I am so busy here. Write to Billy to have your Carolinian changed & to Editor Mercury to change your Mercury. The Appeal is hardly worth having. It is now so small. I will add a line after the mail comes, darling.
Our mail has come, but no letter yet.
Your
Ellie
In the Trenches - Atlanta Ga.
Sunday Aug. 14th 1864
My very dear wife
This day, a week ago, I was with you, and my dear little boy rode down to the cars to see me off. My own Lottie, how I miss you! This is the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. The collect for today is my favorite collect, & I have so marked it in my prayer book. I am sure that you once expressed to me a preference for the collect for the Fourth Sunday after Easter. Did you not, my Lottie? It contains the true philosophy of the Christian: devotion to the command and will of God, & a heart “fixed where true joys are to be found, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. My collect is the expression of that sincere humility and unworthiness before God, which I feel most keenly, & therefore, the collect strikes me particularly. It expresses, too, the supreme goodness & loving kindness of God so touchingly: “Who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and not want to give more than we either desire or deserve”! But I think there is more true Christian philosophy in your favorite collect than in mine. The great principal of subordinating our “unruly wills and affections” to the commands of God, is plainly taught, & the desire expressed, that amongst all of life’s
[Page 2]
trials our hearts should depend, fervently, upon God.
These two collects, the “General Confession”, the “General Thanksgiving” & the prayer of the service “for all conditions of men,” with the “Collect for Grace,” in the morning service, are my favorites in the beautiful ritual of our church. I am most impressed with them, because they are so true to the heart of human nature.
Oh! for the sweet time, when you & I will kneel, side by side, & reflect these prayers to Him who loves us, and takes care of us! I long for it. Lord Jesus, O grant us this inexpressibly precious boon.
I am quite well except my cold. This enemy, last night, shelled the city most vigorously, destroying one house, by setting it on fire. This morning, every thing is comparatively quiet. A shell has just passed over my line, on its way to the city. The people are living in cellars & bomb proofs. I will write to the Mercury to send you paper, & the Carolina in Aiken. Or darling, you do it, as I am so busy here. Write to Billy to have your Carolinian changed & to Editor Mercury to change your Mercury. The Appeal is hardly worth having. It is now so small. I will add a line after the mail comes, darling.
Our mail has come, but no letter yet.
Your
Ellie
Collection
Citation
Capers, Ellison, 1837-1908, “Letter from Ellison Capers to his wife Lottie, August 14, 1864,” The Citadel Archives Digital Collections, accessed April 29, 2024, https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/items/show/496.