The Hillsborough Recorder

INTERESTING LETTER FROM COL. COGSWELL.
Richmond Prisons, Nov. 11, 1861.

Dear Brother:—I write to you under
very painful circumstances. In case the
privateersmen are punished, the authorities
here have concluded to retaliate, and they
have selected the highest in rank to operate
on. My letter to S—will explain all to
you. To-night or to-morrow I, with the
remainder on the black list, will be confined
in the county jail, and treated as criminals
awaiting trial, and the action of the authori-
ties here will be governed by the action of
the government in reference to the priva-
teers.

Console dear S—as much as possible
under the circumstances, and do not let her
come to Richmond in any event whatever.
In this pending calamity I feel much more
for my wife and my child than myself. I
believe that the majority of the officers on
the list are married men, with wives and
children as dear to them as my S— and
the "Little Lady" are to me.

When the name of Captain Ricketts was
drawn, Captain Thomas Cox, of the first
Kentucky regiment, offered to take his
place; but this of course was not allowed.
It was a noble act. God bless him for it.

I never supposed that honestly and faith-
fully serving my country would bring my
neck in danger of a halter; but so it appears.
I never thought that, after being spared the
hailstorm of balls at Leesburg, I might have
to face death in another and dishonorable
form.

Tell J. T. B. that I expect him to do his
best, as I do not wish to be hung for piracy
on the high seas, when I never ventured on
the briny deep without being sea sick.

Please write to me as soon as you receive
this, and state how this new act in the pro-
gramme is received in the North. What
do the people say about the exchange of pri-
soners? The Government must now ex-
change or carry the war to extermination.
They can take no middle course.

S—has the list of officers. Please
have it published in the city papers, as we
do not wish to go down unheralded. I shall
send a copy of the order of Benjamin to J.
T. B. You can examine it at your leisure,
as it is one of the important papers connect-
ed with the war.

Give my love to D.
and the children,
and believe me as still your friend and bro-
ther,
M. COGSWELL.
Thad. H. Lane, Esq., New York.