Difference between revisions of ".NTYy.NzI5"
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<p>[4]</p> | <p>[4]</p> | ||
<p>Mr. Howison's fr [struck-through] his Ma had sent him. Everything <br />that was cooked in it had injured. It is so with <br />all the boxes our mess has gotten. If you should <br />send us a box as I suggested in my last, cook <br />nothing you put in it, & send some soap – the <br />government has stopped giving us any & we <br />cant buy at $1 pr pound. We have been <br />[fa...?] sumptuously (for soldiers) since the visits <br />of our K & Q friends. Henry is getting better, but <br />is very weak – Doc says he is free from decease. <br />I intend letting him go home as soon as he <br />is strong enough – he seems so home sick, & I <br />know how bad it is. Got a note from Mr. <br />Howison stating that Abe's furlough had been pro-<br />longed twenty days & he expected to be able to <br />come back in that time. I know I will stand <br />it better when all of our boys get back. Am so <br />sorry for Aunt Mary – tell her that I can under-<br />stand all of her feelings, & will do every thing in <br />my power to watch over Daniel & take care of <br />him. Tell her that if she will (do as you have <br />done, I hope, my dear Precious) give up her boys en-<br />tirely to the care & keeping of our kind Heavenly</p> | <p>Mr. Howison's fr [struck-through] his Ma had sent him. Everything <br />that was cooked in it had injured. It is so with <br />all the boxes our mess has gotten. If you should <br />send us a box as I suggested in my last, cook <br />nothing you put in it, & send some soap – the <br />government has stopped giving us any & we <br />cant buy at $1 pr pound. We have been <br />[fa...?] sumptuously (for soldiers) since the visits <br />of our K & Q friends. Henry is getting better, but <br />is very weak – Doc says he is free from decease. <br />I intend letting him go home as soon as he <br />is strong enough – he seems so home sick, & I <br />know how bad it is. Got a note from Mr. <br />Howison stating that Abe's furlough had been pro-<br />longed twenty days & he expected to be able to <br />come back in that time. I know I will stand <br />it better when all of our boys get back. Am so <br />sorry for Aunt Mary – tell her that I can under-<br />stand all of her feelings, & will do every thing in <br />my power to watch over Daniel & take care of <br />him. Tell her that if she will (do as you have <br />done, I hope, my dear Precious) give up her boys en-<br />tirely to the care & keeping of our kind Heavenly</p> | ||
| − | <p>[5]<br /><br /><br /><br /></p> | + | <p>[5]</p> |
| + | <p>Father, and feel that they are safe with Him they <br />will be safe, ['they...safe' underscored] & will be returned to her safe when it <br />is best. I stopped my letter here to attend inspection <br />(8 1/2 O.C.), then to go on guard, for I am on guard <br />again to day – but fortunately got what is called <br />the orderly's post, which exempts me from <br />all guard duty. I then heard a fine sermon <br />from Mr. Bagley from "Thy vows are upon me." <br />I think those are the words, from somewhere in <br />Psalms. He introduces his sermon by referring to the <br />nature of vows, then spoke of the importance <br />of even a resolution made to one's self. But <br />the Christian's vow is more important because it <br />is made to others – is more important still from <br />the character of those to whom it is made – Gods <br />people ['Gods people' underscored] – is still more important because it <br />is made to God Himself. He then spoke of <br />the great amount of harm done by inconsiderate <br />christians. & back sliders – then of the work [underscored] <br />that each christian had to do, & of the opportu-<br />nities for doing such work in camp. It was <br />a very good sermon, & I thought of you (as <br />usual) all the time & wished you could hear it.</p> | ||
| + | <p>[6]</p> | ||
| + | <p>Mr. Hines spoke of making a visit to the army, <br />and of dividing his time equally between us and <br />Mr. [Baskerville's?] camp. I wish you would en-<br />courage him to come. I think his earnestness <br />& style of preaching might do great good <br />here, & I am sure it is needed nowhere more. <br />A good many of the privates are I think chris-<br />tains, [&?] not many of the officers. Capt [Pettey?] <br />of Mecklenburg is a good, warm heated christain. <br />Except our Company officer's I know of none <br />others, though there may be some. Our Regimtal <br />officer's are the most profane, godless set of <br />men I ever saw. Col. Goode, Maj Leigh (son <br />of Ben [Wather's?] [?]) & adjutant William Jones <br />seem to think a sentence can have no weight <br />unless it is rendered senseless with oaths. Our <br />Lt. Col. has never yet been with the Regt. his <br />name is Randolph Harrison I believe, & is <br />said to be a nice man. Maj. Leigh is an <br />atheist or infidel – or pretends to be - & doesn't <br />treat a minister or religion with common <br />decency. None of them ever attend our <br />meetings of any kind. We have no chaplain.</p> | ||
| + | <p>[7]</p> | ||
| + | <p><br /><br /><br /></p> | ||
<p><br /><br /></p></html> | <p><br /><br /></p></html> | ||
Revision as of 11:16, 21 December 2017
<html>currently being transcribed GE
[1]
Camp near Chaf[f]in's Bluff
Aug. 2d 1862
My dear wife,
I have thought about you [more?] than u
sual this morning, and felt very much inclined to
write to you, but am so lazy & listless I can hardly
write. I failed to get any letters last evening which
make me more anxious for the to-days mail to
come. The longer I stay in the army, the more
distasteful & irksome does it become to me. We
get up early & have roll call about 4 O.C. – then
breakfast as soon as it can be gotten – commence
drill at 7 O.C. & drill till 9 O.C. – then liter-
ally ['literally' underscored] nothing to do till [Five?] O.C. when we drill a-
gain till dusk. How long, and weary, & lonely
it does seem from 9 till 5 O.C. We cant leave
camp to go any distance without a special permit
from our Capt. & Col. – We cant read – cant write,
cant do anything but sit [?] & listless whereever
we can find a little piece of shade, & then crowded
with soldiers of every description, dirty, profane,
- or we sit & rub on the everlasting old [...ns?]-
kit, which in itself often a great relief. I
feel sometimes as a human with night mares,
[2]
or buried alive, as if I must make a mighty,
super human effort to break lose, or smother.
(Sunday Morning Aug. 4th 62) I stopped here yesterday
a few moments to get a daily paper – while
waiting for it, the mail came with a letter from
you & one from Millie in the same envelope,
and one from Mr. Hines, informing me that
he had sent $5 to R. F. Lester & requested him to
send me its worth in tracts to be distributed a-
mong al the soldiers. I hav'n't received the tracts
yet, but hope very much they will come, & will
write to Mr. Hines soon thanking him for them,
and also to Mr. Lester to give directions for
sending them. There is a Mr. Bagley, bro of our Capt. employed by
the tracts [?] to visit the camps & distribute
tracts to the soldiers. He makes our camp his
head-quarters. I told him about Hr. H's tracts & he
seemed delighted – said he would aid me in
getting them & also in distributing them. As you
will see from the first of my letters [?] & Mil-
dred's letters found me in a very gloomy vein.
They cheer me very much – I am ashamed
to send the first part of any letter, you all
[3]
seem to be so cheerful & write so cheerfully.
But I cant write to you, Darling, without let-
ting you into all of my feelings & thoughts, &
when I write more freely than I ought, I know
you will be careful that none, but thou who should
shall see it. Tell Mildred I cant help answering
her letters now – even should I miss writing to
you once – I will also try & answer [Lou's or Sue's?]. I
think it is a shame that Aunt Judy should suf-
fer so much from not getting letters from Sam;
he does write, but inregularly. He thinks a great
deal about his house-folks & talks a good deal about
them & seems uneasy when he fails to hear from
them; but is so fond of his farm [(?)] and
so much opposed to writing that he doesn't think
of the lapse of time between his letters. I have
known him to write a letter & keep it in his
packet three or four days before he sent it.
Doc is kept very busy since his appointment (temporary)
of Ass. Surgeon - & we now see so little of him
that we almost feel as if he was lost to our
mess – but he still eats with us. Yesterday he
went to Rmd [Richmond] for Medicine & found a box at
[4]
Mr. Howison's fr [struck-through] his Ma had sent him. Everything
that was cooked in it had injured. It is so with
all the boxes our mess has gotten. If you should
send us a box as I suggested in my last, cook
nothing you put in it, & send some soap – the
government has stopped giving us any & we
cant buy at $1 pr pound. We have been
[fa...?] sumptuously (for soldiers) since the visits
of our K & Q friends. Henry is getting better, but
is very weak – Doc says he is free from decease.
I intend letting him go home as soon as he
is strong enough – he seems so home sick, & I
know how bad it is. Got a note from Mr.
Howison stating that Abe's furlough had been pro-
longed twenty days & he expected to be able to
come back in that time. I know I will stand
it better when all of our boys get back. Am so
sorry for Aunt Mary – tell her that I can under-
stand all of her feelings, & will do every thing in
my power to watch over Daniel & take care of
him. Tell her that if she will (do as you have
done, I hope, my dear Precious) give up her boys en-
tirely to the care & keeping of our kind Heavenly
[5]
Father, and feel that they are safe with Him they
will be safe, ['they...safe' underscored] & will be returned to her safe when it
is best. I stopped my letter here to attend inspection
(8 1/2 O.C.), then to go on guard, for I am on guard
again to day – but fortunately got what is called
the orderly's post, which exempts me from
all guard duty. I then heard a fine sermon
from Mr. Bagley from "Thy vows are upon me."
I think those are the words, from somewhere in
Psalms. He introduces his sermon by referring to the
nature of vows, then spoke of the importance
of even a resolution made to one's self. But
the Christian's vow is more important because it
is made to others – is more important still from
the character of those to whom it is made – Gods
people ['Gods people' underscored] – is still more important because it
is made to God Himself. He then spoke of
the great amount of harm done by inconsiderate
christians. & back sliders – then of the work [underscored]
that each christian had to do, & of the opportu-
nities for doing such work in camp. It was
a very good sermon, & I thought of you (as
usual) all the time & wished you could hear it.
[6]
Mr. Hines spoke of making a visit to the army,
and of dividing his time equally between us and
Mr. [Baskerville's?] camp. I wish you would en-
courage him to come. I think his earnestness
& style of preaching might do great good
here, & I am sure it is needed nowhere more.
A good many of the privates are I think chris-
tains, [&?] not many of the officers. Capt [Pettey?]
of Mecklenburg is a good, warm heated christain.
Except our Company officer's I know of none
others, though there may be some. Our Regimtal
officer's are the most profane, godless set of
men I ever saw. Col. Goode, Maj Leigh (son
of Ben [Wather's?] [?]) & adjutant William Jones
seem to think a sentence can have no weight
unless it is rendered senseless with oaths. Our
Lt. Col. has never yet been with the Regt. his
name is Randolph Harrison I believe, & is
said to be a nice man. Maj. Leigh is an
atheist or infidel – or pretends to be - & doesn't
treat a minister or religion with common
decency. None of them ever attend our
meetings of any kind. We have no chaplain.
[7]
