1862-02-07_Letter-A_Alvord-to-MyDearBrotherWarren

[duplicate] Washington DC Feb 7/62 My Dear Bro Warren I dropped you a note as I left for Baltimore—If you have any orders from Chaplains please forward them to me. Your whole letter which I have been reading again this morning seems full of good cheer & hope. Your receipts especially are such as should make us all grateful. I had been very stingy for a few weeks, fearing bankruptcy now a few links will be let out—My arrangements with the P. C. are excellent so I may also say of the commissaries & Dr. Master.—I make my 5lb rations for the P.C. (they look like loaves of bread) daily for 50 Regts. & so keep on until I get around the circle of 272 with which I am now connected. After the round of 100 Banners &c I sandwich in the dollar packages of Almanacks or tracts—Then they begin & get the Banner again—On all these I write "Please give one & every Tent & oblige" &c I have the best reason to beleive this is done faithfully. (Larger packages go by other conveyances) I endeavor to have

the weeks supply culminate on Saturday so that the little morsel for "each tent group" shall be universal I get the whole round in the 6 days. It is very pleasant to know that by Sabbath morning (probably on that morning) 200.000 have these little gems of [Cx?] & heaven beneath their eyes, and many of them, we may trust, upon their hearts. Every body likes these small parcels coming regularly—I try in the rotation to have them as diversified as possible. Each of our things too is such a beauty of itself—You may depend upon it they are read & then a large per cent of them reread by friends at home. The remark is frequent from Chaplains that "they have never known so large a per-centage of Tract distribution effective." Some have said it "50 per-ct, more of these tracts are read than we have ever known read by men of similar characters before"—Those sent home are all read—They are souvenirs of the camp from the hand and heart of the absent boy, coming in the channels of love, & in returning love are perused with special and intense interest, read with a blessing! Gods spirit delights to move along these channels of affection—This double mission of our publications (especially of the Banner) is

A new idea—I have supposed that our things would sometimes be enveloped to soldiers by their friends, but I had not dreamed that they themselves were to be the most effective kind of distributors—Gods ways are not our ways—You ought to see the cart loads of letters which these 272 mail bags contain daily. (They are you know all along here in front of my door) & think that all of them are also conveying to & fro so much of the precious gospel—I am told nearly all the Banner "are sent home. The boys think it is made here and that their mothers and sisters must see it to know what is going on in the war—Many a wicked fellow sends it home because he knows it will rejoice the heart of his good mother to see that away here in Virginia he has a little Christian camp paper to read—You speak of more books— think we do very well now for variety with perhaps a nice gem which we may now and then get—The Banner is to be the hot cake—all other publications are to be Standards to fill out & sort in as the daily demand & circumstances require—I tell the

chaplains "they must not expect new books constantly The Banner must answer for novelty" All seemed satisfied to have the matter as we have fixed it, make the paper as beautiful as possible, & as interesting. I have an impression that you had better make it worth one cent—& issue it if you can semi-monthly. If this war goes on it is to be our representation both in the army and through the country—& I may add it is to be such as to value & fitness of matter, as well as as artistic & mechanical skill—Put the flag in once in awhile if funds allow. As to the West, I fear Br. Savage cannot effect distribution thoroughly from a point so distant from the army as Chicago & I have learned that intermediate agency makes great waste and robs as of a large amount of our usual capital—I wish the comr felt able to put a good man here to help me that I might go all around upon the front and organize things. The fact is I am too much confined here night and day and much of it is boys work—but I will write Savage and tell him every thing—Hear very little of the Cx^tn Com" Bro Stewart of Philadelphia writes

me this morning that "great bodies move slow" He is ill at present but hopes something before long will be done. I wish they would do or not do—They are just now quite in the way of my sending out widely a circular with strong appeal from here giving the present states and wants of this concern. I must do it soon. Will it be wise to have it out at once? I think the young men here, with whom we have along been acting would consent, but I desire to act in all good faith to my to my pledges you, in Boston may have made to the "Commision" D^r Kirk I suppose: has perhaps arranged with M^r Toby that they shall act first and foremost & so furnish us with funds—Please confer with the D^r All our friends are asking "why we do not make a public appeal from Washington? D^r S. D. Smith has just left me surprised at what we are doing & saying" why have you not let us know this in New York? In Baltimore—(& this is what I sat down to write you about--) I found Secesh in horn and hoof rampant, especailly towards us—Br [Giteau?] Sec of the in Maryland