From George Hector Tyndale   27th March 1863

Philadelphia 27^th March 1863

My dear John

Before going back to my command¹ I must say a few words of remembrance to yourself and our good friend Tom Hirst. Your reply to my letter,² written when very ill yet, came duly as did a short while after, your relation to the Tindalls of Wexford³—quite interesting to all of us. Tom’s good, kind letter to me came too. My heart warms to him for his goodness. He is the first Englishman who seems to recognise our nationality—he says “your Fatherland”. That is the word: We are a people & must be so acknowledged. But now of myself.

I had thought of resuming duty shortly after I wrote you last, but the disease which was in me for some time previous to the time of my wound, has been very slow in yielding—in fact not yet gone. Typhoid fever with diarrhea had nearly used me up. I am better now however, and though not well shall go to my command in a day or two. Last December I believe the President⁴ sent my name to the Senate for promotion to a Brigadier Generalship—this was unknown to me until January and was therefore unsolicited by me. I have not yet received the Commission as all parties at the Government are hurried so, but suppose it will come after more important things are done. Until that coming I still am the Lieut[enant]: Col[onel]: of the 28^th Reg[imen]t: P[ennsylvani]a: Vol[unteer]s:; but presume that it will come. It is no folly which make me dread the responsibility of the office, no mockery. But I do dread it and feel ashamed that I should take a trust involving life and health of thousands of brave men. Yet I do accept it—perhaps from perversity, perhaps from vanity, ambition or other unknown organic motive.

I have sent you two papers, one with a speech of Wendell Phillips⁵ the great Abolition orator, in which he uses my name to point a moral, and while he gets the point he wants, he misstates facts concerning my position as Brig[adier]: Gen[era]l: &c. I did burn part of Harper’s Ferry⁶ as a military necessity—and certainly Mr. Phillips does not hold the circumstances to be more curious—providential—than I do. Certainly my post then and all circumstances connected are strange. Why should it have happened that out of the tens of thousands of officers in the Service I the only one with any connection with John Brown⁷ should have accidentally been posted then in command in the position of Colonel at least—I was then only a Major? It was wholly accidental as my small relation to the raid or rather the body of John Brown was unknown to every officer above me. The other paper makes a complimentary notice of my appointment. I was ashamed to send you some other papers which praised too much.

I send you some photographs, of which you can give one or other to Tom Hirst. Please hand the enclosed letter to him. We are all well Mrs Tyndale⁸ sends kind remembrances to Mr. Hirst & yourself. Her only brother⁹ was wounded at Fredericksburg¹⁰ but he has recovered & returned to his regiment, promoted to the Adjutancy of his regiment.

Affectionately yours | Hector Tyndale

I shall be glad to hear as often as you can spare time of yourself Tom Hirst & Debus. H. T.

RI MS JT/1/T/53