November 1^st

Huttonville virginia October the 31^st 1861

 

Dear Mother I take my pen in hand to inform you that I am well at present and hope these few lines may find you all in good health

 

I have not received any letters from you for more than a week and I think I certainly will get one tomorrow and so I thought I would begin a letter to night and finish it tomorrow after the mail comes.

 

There has not anything happened of any note lately nothing but drilling standing guard and cold weather mud and rain and a little snow now and then

 

I got seven or eight papers the other day and I dont know who sent them but I wish they would treat me so again….

 

I have been trying to write but the duch are roming around in the tent so I will have to quit My tent mates are all duch Catholics. there was one American in the tent by the name of John Danby from moorshill but he deserted some time since and they cant find where he has gone too

 

I tell you this is a regular V^a morning. the mud is about two feet deep and drizzleing rain and a cold mountain wind blowing

 

I saw twenty or thirty teams of 4 mules each pass here this morning right from Indiana they are / for the 7^th Indiana and I am sorry to say that they look better this morning than they ever will look again for western V^a is calculated to make old mules out of young ones and I think from the appearance of most of the men it is the same way with the soldiers.

 

We have had but one death in our Company yet His name was James Robison from Edinburg Ia He died the night of the 29^th Oc^t in the hospital One of the nurses found him some two hours after he was dead.

 

I cant see for my part what keeps us all from getting sick although we are over half reported not fit for duty about 400 marching men is the best the 17^th can do

But I guess I had better drop that subject for it is a court martial offence to mention the number or condition of the men.

 

We was mustered in for pay the other day and I guess we will our money in about 2 weeks I think we will get about twenty five dollars and I want to send home 20 of it

 

I wrote a letter to Father over a week ago and directed it to Lawrenceburg in care of Capt Ward C^o A 37^th reg I^a vol and I think it will follow him. I have heard since that the 37^th has gone to Louisville and went before they got all / arms and I think things must be getting bilious in Kentucky I wish they would transfer our brigade to Ky. I think we could clean out the secesh in little or no time. they are not doing they business right running green men that dont know their right hand from their left into open field fights. I blieve that our brigade 13^th 14^th 15^th 17^th Ind and the cincinnati Gurthrie Grey reg can whip all the soldiers they have got in Ky

 

But I must dry up or I wont have much room to write after the mail comes

 

Well I have got tired waiting for the mail and thought I would scribble a little more

 

I saw a paper what an awful time Govenor Morton had getting our clothes to us and now they are trying to cheat us out of our caps. they wanted the sutler to bring on caps and then let us buy them of him so last night it was put to vote in the companies and we decided that if U.S. couldent give us caps we would wear the old har I think if it had not been for Governor Morton we would never have got any thing at all but now we are very well supplied. I would have had plenty of socks to have done me a year but when we was out on a scout some of the onnery devils that stayed in camp stole two pair that I fetched from home with me. I suppose they thought there was / no hereafter but maybe I will catch them napping sometime yet my blankets has been went for several times and got too and I always went for more and always was equaly successful

 

The boys are building sod chimneys to their tents and we held a caucus this morning to see whether we should have one to our tent or not and we come to the conclusion that chimneys were a nuisance although I think the greatest obstacle in the way was laziness

 

The 13^th regiment has been out 20 or 25 on a scout for 4 or 5 days and has not got back yet and the rumor has got out in camp that 20 of them is killed but it has not been confirmed yet Jonathan Gordon and Moze Hallgarth went out with them.

 

Well the mail has come in and and I have not got any letter and that makes nearly two weeks since I have got a letter and I shall quit looking for letters and if I dont get one next mail I am going to quit writing. but I must close write soon no more at present but remain your

 

Affectionate son

George W Young

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