Letter Home to Eckford,   Jan 6,1863

meayzles, marching orders and desertion

battle scene from writing paper
630106wow page 1

Camp Near Mumfordsville
January th6 1863

Dear parants
I take my pen in hand to let you know how i am    I am prety well now    I hav had the meayzles and now got over them    I was prety sick for eight days    Cicero Kenedy is prety sick    i do not think he can live long for he is out of his head    all of the while he is talking about going home all the while    i think that his father aut to come and see him and take him home    and O. Brown is prety sick   Henry Griffin that worked at Daniel Danikins he is prety sick with the meazles    our company is prety small    they...
630106wow page 2 ...ar all sick amoste    we hav got marching orders again    we hav marching to go to Nashville Tenn.    we shall go as soon as we can get tranpertation    i recieved a letter from you last eavening and was happy to hear that that you was well    it was dated the 31 of Dec    I should like to to be thare to help to brake Dick [the colt] this winter    i wish that when you write you would just send a sheet to me for i hav got out of paper and hav to barrow of the boys and hav no money to buy eny with    it is five months tomarrow since i got into this    i mean since i enlisted and uncle sam owes me 4 months pay...
630106wow page 3 ...and if we go to Nashville we shant get it very soon    last eavening thare was two men left our company and we think that they hav deserted    they will all desert before long if we do not get our pay    the Col. sayes that they will all leave if they do not get thier pay    Swart of Homer has deserted    thare is one more man died in our company   he was one of our sargents Mr A van Dyke    I suppose that you heared that Bertsley was dead    he died in Louisville about two weaks ago    we hav not got a sargent and only two corprels in our Compney    Denis Reardon...
630106wow page 4 ...was taken sick today    we do not know what the mater of him    well it seems that this paper is so dirty that i am so beshamed that i cannot write eny more on this
P A P E R

i wish that you would send
your letters more often
direct to the same plase as before
until i tell you diferant

from your Dutifull Son
William O Wells

previous transcription | next transcription
Table of Contents | Wells Letters

edited by Peter J Wait, 5/8/00