In this letter, Deborah writes to her brother Jeremiah Hardenbergh about life in Missouri. Her husband is in the 1st Illinois Cavalry Regiment. She writes about family and events in Jefferson City. She makes special note of attending a "negroes meeting" at which she was impressed by someone she referred to as "Strubles negro" and the "enthusiasm" of the congregation of roughly 100-200 people. Deborah closes by stating that if Black people can gain their freedom, "we will have an intelligent population," although she still favors a policy of "emigration" should this occur (presumably, she is referring to the strategy of groups like the American Colonization Society that pushed to send free Black people to colonies on the African contintent rather than let them remain in the U.S.).
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