File:Letter signed Joseph A. Fardell, Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Father and Mother, December 7, 1864.jpg

Describes a skirmish with Irish Democrats at Pittston, Pennsylvania.

Transcription Scranton Pennsylvania December 7th / 1864

My Dear Father and Mother

I seat my self once more to write to you to let you know that I am in the best of helth and do hope those few lines may find you all enjoying every blessing that can be bestowed upon you though with a sad heart as it appears that you have forgotten me altogether or at least you have seased to corespond with me the last letter that I received was Dated Oct 3d which has been over too months from your hand many changes might have taken place since that time in our family so you see that I can not be very well contented about home though I hope that everything is going on all right or at least as near right as can be expected every thing is tolrable well with me except I have not been payed off for sum time though I have got enough money to by my tobacco and that is all that is required for me to get along at present when you write let me know what you think of the times Generaly all so let me know how you are satisfide with the May Election has gone off We had a nice little fight about 12 miles below here a few days before the Election at a little town Called Pittston on the North Branch of the susquchanna River[Susquehanna River] the Democrat Party here consist of Coal miners Rail Road Irish and Duch & c the very lowest class of catholic farmers their action would turn any true Native American from Democrat to Black republica[n] any thing to be in the oposet to them I am more of an no Nothing to day than ever before I can but curse them in my heart I shall not attempt to tell you hardly how I like the Way the Election I have much objection in sumthings more than I could write in a whole day I have just red the Presidents Message and am in no plite fur writing much on the subject to night as I am in two much of a hurry the Worst objection I have is the incuragement of foren emogration which I can not heartly supose any administration that will do that I can put up with anything but an Irishman in the U.S. but them I can not go atall if I was let have my own way I would strike turrer to every vandal of them the day before we had our mass meeting in Pittston they had one here in Scranton We let them have it in pease and did not protest them is any way they went so far as to rase a copperhead Snake on one of their banners which would not have been tolrated had it not have been for our Lieut he thought it best to let them alone so we did at his request we send to Wilks Barre[Wilkes-Barre] a few miles lower down on the R.R. and had a 12 pound brass pease of artilary brought up to Pittston to fier saloots[salutes] out of the occation there was as many as one hundred Irish gathered up to take the Gun away from us and spike it thare was no more than 20 Soldiers to my own knolidge on the Ground though thare was as many as 10 sitizens joined us making 30 in number so we let the host of Irish get within 5 or 10 steps of the gun they fought with rocks and clubs and once and a while a pistole that so we commenced in the same manner as we was no properly armed they commenced to fall back in bad order so we rushed upon them what of us had packed pistoles and it would have done you good to have seen them scatter they run under houses with stones and bullits whiseling after them it was a regular bul run[Bull Run] battle they was badley whipped and worse scared we killed Eleven and wounded twelve it done me more good to see that eleven fall than it would have done me to have seen fifty armed rebels killed such informal traitors as them should all be treated in the same like manner they are as frad of deth of the blue packets every since that day though that is not the only fight We have had with them we had severl before but none since we have passed resulition amor amory our sef selves that we will take one...