The GOSPEL TRUTH
LETTER OF

CHARLES G. FINNEY

1864

To Edwin Lamson

6 April 1864

 

 

[MS in Finney Papers, 2/2/1]

 

Oberlin 6th April 1864

My Dear Br. Lamson.

Yours of the 3d ult. is before me,

for which I thank you. In this you

say that Mary will reply in a few

days to my entreaty that she would come

with the children & spend the summer

with us. Julia just said I do wish

Mrs Lamson would come & visit us

this summer. As I have not heard

from her yet I suppose she may

not be quite settled in regard to

coming. I write at present to urge

her to decide in our favor. Do come

if the Lord will let you Mary. We

do so long to see you. & the children.

I recd a day or two since, the congreg[a]tionalist

you sent me. That article was pouring

cold water upon the union effort.

That enterprise may have been unwisely

begun. But when begun why do not

[page 2]

the ministers & churches give it the

right direction & support. Should an

enterprise of such infinite moment

be suffered to fail because it was

commenced without due consulta

tion & deliberation. This seems to be

the only objection to it. But now it

can be wisely directed by the ministers

& churches. Why should it not be. &

efficiently sustained. But I know

too little of it to ju[d]ge what is wise.

I earnestly hope that no unworthy

motive may influence any one in

sustaining or not sustaining it.

Br. Lamson, it seems sometimes that I

must see you. There are so many things

I want to talk over in regard to the

state of Zion & of our country.

I wonder if you & Mary realize how

much I feel the departure of my

Dear Wife. I was ever of a transparent

turn of mind & revealed to my wife

all my thoughts, trials, joys & sorrows.

[page 3]

She was intelligent, affectionate

sympathetic & we read each other

through & through. She is gone & I

have no one before or to whom I can

think aloud. I am shut up to

myself where I have until now

I had one with whom to converse with

out restraint on all subjects. Of course

I can not say to my children not to any

one what I would say to my wife.

My children are to me all that children

can be; but no body on earth is like

such a wife as I has & as you have

I now pray more earnestly than ever

that God will spare Mary, for your

sake. Charles is still in the army.

Ange is in Brooklyn. She has been

with Charles since early in February.

Dont know when she will be at home.

babe

The babbe ^ is with us & a very sunbeam

in our home. Norton is 1st Asst. Engineer

on the Pacific R.R. He is in Nebraska.

A letter will reach him at Omaha.

[page 4]

I hope you will write him as he

is so far from home. His wife &

children are at her Father's in Oberlin.

Gen. Cox is in Tennessee with General

Scofield. He is at present Chief of Scofields

staff & has the charge of the Army in

the field under Scofield. He keeps

up courage & good Spirits, likes Scofield

as a man, & as an officer. I find there

is so much political opposition to some of

our Generals & so much political favoritism

to others, that I can not know what to think

from what is said in the papers.

I see there are powerful revivals in many

places. Bless the Lord for this. Such a

war and such revivals together. What a

wonder! Julia sends much love.

We shall wait intensely for a reply

from Mary. Were not the circumstances

so peculiar, circumstances that can never

exist but once, I would not urge Mary

to come so far from home. Nor you to

consent to it. As it is I will not be selfish

but we do want to see you all & hope

it may be the will of God to send you.

Very soon after I wrote you last I found it

necessary to part with your check. You have

probably recd it. Again I thank you for it. It was

in good time. God bless you all.

C. G. Finney.

 

Footnote:

Cox had, moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, in December 1863 to take command of the 23rd Army Corps. But when John M. Schofield took over command of the Army of the Ohio, Cox became his Chief of Staff. On April 3rd, he was put in charge of the 3rd Division of the 23rd Corps, taking over command of the Corps when Schofield was absent. With their headquarters at Bull's Gap, they spent the spring preparing for the Atlanta campaign. See Schmiel, "The Career of Jacob Dolson Cox", pp. 108-13.