Cyrus H. Stephens to Richard Yates

Elm Point Sept 3d/62

Hon Richard Yates

Gov of Illinois.

Dear sir & Brother,

I have one request to make of you & that is this I have a son in the army & he has been sick almost all of the time for five months and I have tried to get him a furlough to come home until he gets well & have failed & I chanced to see your name in the G.L. Journals & I thought that I would write to you to see if you could not get a furlough for him to come home until he gets well he tells me that he has not been able for duty in

the last three months & if you can do any thing for him I will be very thankful to you as a Brother of the same Craft, for it is impossible for me to go down & see him, for I had made my arrangements to go & see him & I took sick myself & before I got well four of my children took down sick & I have no one to leave with my family and I am not able to do much yet. he is in Capt Whitset co I 3d battalion 6th regiment of Illinois Cavalry, And the last that I heard from him which was on the on the 14th of Aug, he was in the hospital at Memphis Tennesee, And now Brother do the best you can to get him a furlough or a discharge & may the Lord reward you by so doing is the prayer of

your unworthy servent & Brother

C.H. Stephens

N.B. you will find my name in the G. L. Journals, Lodge 255 A.F. & A. A. Cyrus H. Stephens

There is one or two other things that I will remind you of there is two or three in our precinct that had aught to be attended to Robert Armstrong says that he will say what he pleases and it is nobodys business he is all of the time a cussing Lincoln and his administration he says that he hopes all of the Northern army that is in the field or my go will get killed before they get home he say the South is right and also he belongs to the K.G.C. A. J. Luce is in the same fix

James McEaken has kept his boys from volunteering and he say the same that Armstrong does about talking & he is one of the K.G.C.

I want you to keep the last part of this letter to yourself & not mention my name because they have swore vengance on me any how but I am not afraid of them if they will come in the day time.

Yours in haste

C.H. Stephens

My P.O. address is Cotten Wood Grove Bond Co Ill

Sess & c

Cyrus H. Stephens

Elm Point Sept 3 - 62

Writes as [Free M.?] wishes to get a furlough for his son who is in Co. I 6th Ills. Cav. now in hospital at Memphis. Also denounces certain men of his neighborhood as Secessionists & K.s G. C.

State of Illinois

Executive Department.

Springfield ___ 186