Letter, Pierre-Joseph Favrot, Baton Rouge, La., to Philogene Favrot, Nashville, Tenn.

              1814, September 16
PIERRE-JOSEPH  FAVROT,  BATON  ROUGE,  TO
PHILOGENE FAVROT, NASHVILLE. ALS. 4 pp. French.
Richmond.
	Your letter of the 22nd of last month, my dear son,
brought me back to life and revived my soul. I had been
disheartened and overwhelmed by the cruelest and most
painful reflections. I could not sleep for twelve days. At last, I
breathe more easily; my blood runs peacefully. Your letter,
my dear son, has been an excellent remedy for the whole
family, especially your father and your eldest brother. You
should know that a sad piece of news came from the city from
Valerien. He told Favrot that Chaupin had told him that
Fergus had said he had received a letter from you in which
you wrote that you were getting used to the whistling of
bullets; that you had been in a skirmish where your horse was
killed under you and that your servant was killed at your side.
	Your brother hid this secret from me for several days. .1 discovered it when I told your brother about my anxiety, after reading a paper which mentioned an affair which took place, I believe, on the 25th of July. It said that the action was violent on both sides that you had been repulsed three times, and at the third attack you repelled and drove away the enemy. Then, your brother told me that he was also worried: "I know that my brother is with the army and he did not remain at Fort Meigs. When he writes to Mama, he dates his letters from Fort Meigs, in order not to torment her, but look at this stamp. It is postmarked from Detroit." I told him that I had noticed this for a long time. I said, "I do not think your brother remained at Fort Meigs. He is with his regiment, but I want your mother to believe he is still at the fort; otherwise she would die of sorrow and anxiety." He then told me about Valerien's report. Since I strongly suspected that you could not have remained behind by yourself, because your regiment had been ordered to leave, he confessed the sad news that we still keep hidden from your mother and sisters. Since sad news travels quickly, I told several chatterboxes to watch their tongues, to think before asking about you, and to keep their mouths shut.          Begin sidebar on page 1] I  forgot  to  acknowledge  the  letter you  wrote  on  my
birthday.  All  of us  enjoyed  it,  but  thinking  on  the  25th  that
you were in a bloody battle, had been repulsed three times
according to the report, and that many officers had been
killed, you must imagine how tormented I was. Luckily, your
mother had not read the newspaper. Calm weather comes after
the storm.[End sidebar on page 1]