I would neither read it in the regiment, have it published, nor mention his name in connection with its authorship. This promise, I am sorry to say, I only partially fulfilled; for I read the poem to Dr. Charles Bostick, now of this county: John H. Hudson, late of Jefferson county, but now deceased, and to my brother, Dr. Wm. W. Ashton, now of Shreveport, Louisiana, who were my messmates before leaving the regiment, and, on my return to Georgia, to my wife, and told her who wrote it. That your father was the author of the poem, there can never be, to my mind at least, even the shadow of a doubt. * * *
Though professional critics may perhaps smile, or ridicule the idea, I submit that the poem itself furnishes almost positive internal evidence of having been written by a married man upon whom the sacred memories of home, and wife, and children were crowding as he wrote. Such a man was Mr. Oliver. * * * Mr. Oliver, both by natural gifts and careful culture, was fully equal to such a production. * * * From Mr. Oliver's well-known modesty, he would have been the very last man to publish the poem, if he published it at all over his own signature. * * *
I have no desire whatever for any publicity in this controversy, indeed I would gladly avoid it, but I feel it due to justice and the memory of your gallant and gifted father to place this communication at your disposal. Though I neither know you personally, nor have had any correspondence with you, I beg you to accept the assurance of my high esteem with sentiments of sincere regard.
Rev. Hugh F. Oliver:
My Dear Sir—I owe you many apologies for my long silence, but have delayed answering your further inquiries touching the authorship of "All Quiet Along the Potomac To-night," that I might overlook a large number of letters written by me to my wife from Virginia during the summer and fall of 1861, thinking that some of them might enable me to fix, or approximate dates that had escaped my memory when I last wrote you. And I am gratified beyond measure to inform you that the search has not been in vain.
You will remember that in my communication to you, published in the Savannah Morning News, I stated that, after acquainting my brother and Dr. Bostick with the noble lyric in question while still in camp, I subsequently read it to Mrs. Ashton. I find now that I wrote to her on the subject before returning to Georgia. I have before me a letter addressed to her, written on coarse yellow Confederate paper, dated "Camp Second Georgia regiment, near Centreville, Virginia, October 3d, 1861," in which the following sentence occurs: "Upon my arrival at home, should I be so fortunate as to obtain the hoped-for furlough, I will read you the touching and
