July 14,1861 Washington, D.C.
My very dear Sarah,
Indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days, perhaps tomorrow.
Lest I should not be able to write you again, I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.
I have no misgivings about or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter.
I know how strongly American civilization now leans on the triumph of the government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am willing — perfectly willing — to lay down all my joys in this life to help maintain this government and to pay that debt.
Sarah, my love for you is deathless. It seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break. And yet my love of country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly, with all these chains, to the battlefield. The memory of all the blissful moments I have enjoyed with you come crowding over me, and I feel most deeply grateful to God and you that I have enjoyed them so long. And how hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us…If I do not return, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, nor that when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name. Forgive my many faults and the many pains I have caused you.
How thoughtless, how foolish I have sometimes been. But, oh Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they love, I shall always be with you in the brightest days and in the darkest nights. Always. Always.
And when the soft breeze fans your cheeks, it shall be my breath; and as the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.
Sarah, do not mourn me dead: Think I am gone and wait for me, for me shall meet again.
1861年7月14日
华盛顿特区
我最亲爱的莎拉：
任务十分紧迫，部队将在数天内开拔，也许就在明天。
我觉得有必要写给你几句话，以免今后再没机会给你写信。这样，在我离去的时候，信就会出现在你眼前。
对于我所投身的事业，我没有丝毫的担忧和害怕，我的勇气也丝毫没有减弱和退缩。
我明白美国文明现在就完全寄托在政府的胜利上；而比起我们之前为革命抛头颅、洒热血的先烈们，我们所欠太多。我希望——衷心希望——以今生我抛却的所有欢娱，来维护政府和偿还债务。
莎拉，我对你的爱永无止尽。似乎是有一种结实的锁链将我牢牢系住，只有全能的主才能摧毁它。但对祖国的热爱似一阵强风，将我和所有这些铁链一起吹向战场。和你一起度过的所有欢乐时光的记忆如潮水般涌上心头，我为拥有许多那样的日子而感激上帝，感激你，要让我忘掉这些记忆、让我抛却未来的希望是多么难——如果上帝保佑，我们将来能够恩爱地生活在一起，看着咱们的儿子在身边长大成人……如果我没有回来，我亲爱的莎拉，不要忘记我有多爱你；战场上我即使还剩最后一口气，也会低唤你的名字。原谅我的许多过错和我给你造成的许多伤害。
有时候我是多么的愚蠢和没头脑呀。但是，呵，莎拉！如果故去的人能够重回这个星球，并无声无息、无影无踪地飞绕于他们所爱的人周围。我将在最晴朗的白天和最暗淡的黑夜时时刻刻守候在你的身旁。时时刻刻，直到永远。
当轻柔的风儿拂过你的脸颊，那将是我的呼吸；当凉爽的风儿撩过你的鬓角，那将是我路过的灵魂。
莎拉，不要为我的死而悲哀：只要想着我走了。等着我，因为我们还会再相见。