Wednesday Morning 23d [October 1862]
I have this moment returned my dear Mary from paying the last sad duties at your sister’s grave. She is placed in a lovely secluded spot which the foot of the enemy can never desecrate & tho’ among strangers their sympathy & kindness will forever endear them to me Chapman Leigh came down thinking I wanted to take the remains to Richmond but I decided to place them here until I could remove them to my own dear home my darling Annie I never had expected to weave a funeral wreath for her. All the neighbors sent beautiful flowers & the coffin was covered with them. I have not time now to tell you all I would say but merely write to say I hope that the telegraph did not reach you before you got to Cedar Grove where the sympathy of our dear friends will be most grateful to you & where you would have too a better opportunity of getting your things. The kind ladies here have made us 2 mourning bonnets & we have got some veils. We shall probably be in Richmond on Saturday tho’ not certainly.
If you are there I shall see you. If not please write to me as soon as possible. I write you a long letter to H. Hill which I suppose you have not received yet. I am so uncertain where you are that I cannot write more as the man is waiting to take my letter.
Love to all
Your affectionate & sorrowing Mother
I told her to have it stretched up for trimming but if cousin Julia has not gone & will get a piece of binding of some kind it would be better as the cloth is so very thick, we cut it into a long sack so she can judge how much will be needed for 2 as Agnes will alter hers also. I have one & will try & get my large shawl from Ravensworth tho’ I would like to have something to make a thin one, one of those bound with ribbon would answer for mild weather. Mildred will not require so fine a dress as ours. I would like an English crape veil as the one got in Warrenton is so indifferent, buttons for the cloaks about 8 for each, large ones, cousin Julia had better see Eleanor Rogers as I asked her to be our banker during the war & I heard he has sent many things here but I cannot find out where they are. I will write to Margaret in a few days
Source: Transcribed from photocopy of original letter, Lee Family Papers, Mss1 L51 c 395, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond
Transcribed by Colin Woodward, 2018 March 7
