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Lieut. FLETCHER, of the Alton (Ill.) Volunteers, was among the
killed at Buena Vista. He was a widower and the father of a little
girl, two years old. His remains, with others, were recently buried
at Alton, and his little daughter, accompanied by her grandparents,
attended the funeral. The night before the battle, Lieut. F. wrote
the following letter, which presents, in a gratifying light, his
paternal
affections :
CAMP BUENA VISTA, Mexico, Jan. 14, 1847.
DEAR COLONEL:
Tomorrow we expect to have an
engagement with a superior Mexican force, and on the eve of the
affair, I have believed it proper to address you a few lines. As
you are well aware, the object nearest my heart is the welfare
of my little child; and, so far as I have been able, I have
provided for her. My wages, to the amount of two hundred and
eighty dollars, are due me from the Government; besides a small
sum owing me, as well as the contents of my trunk, and the books
and other articles I may own, I have, in a memorandum in my
trunk, left to her, and placed the whole in charge of Capt.
Baker, to be forwarded to you in case I should fall—all of which
I doubt not you will most religiously see appropriated to her
use, as may best seem fit and proper by you and mother. And now,
with respect to the child. Should I fall, I leave her entirely
with you and your wife; but I have written to my brother,
requesting him to throw his brotherly protection over her; and
if, at any time, you think fit to send her to him, he will
receive her as his own child and protect her as such. Should she
remain with you, I wish that she should receive as good an
education as the little means left her will afford: and above
all things, teach her that truth and virtue are to woman, what
the soul is to the body—the life of its life. Teach her that to
be just to all—-in thought—in word—in deed, is the true—the
great aim of a good mind; and those who strive to accomplish
that purpose, seldom fail to live at peace with the world, and
accomplish the "Great Destiny" for which they are created. I
would say a thousand things more about her, and my wishes for
her; but that would be superfluous—so I will revert to other
subjects.
In death as in life,
Ever yours,
E. F. FLETCHER
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