May 5^th 1863              

 

              Dear wife I embrace this chance to drop you a few lines to let you know that I am tolerable well at this time and hope these lines may find you & the children well & doing well we are camped about 4 miles north of clarksville now we got here to day and will leave to morrow on our road to Alexandria L^a Some of the men think we will have orders to turn back in a few days others think that we will go on and finally go to Magruder down on the Gulf I do not promise myself any thing now for it all depends upon our success and the movements of the enemy we dont get much news here in the army but I hope we will get more from this out it is reported that Gen^r Banks has possession of Alexandria an other report says he is retreating from there. So I hardly know what to believe when I read it. I stand it to walk better than I expected though we have never marched over a distance of 4 miles a day yet we live only tolerable here now flour & bacon and some beeff salt is all we get very poorly provided with cooking utensils and tents parson Hamel left yesterday morning I sent you a letter by him & $203.00 which I hope you will receive before you get this also I sent $200.00 dollars by James Sullivan & my horse which you ought to have now I want you to write as soon as you get this & let me know whether you have gotten it all or not I borrowed $2.00 dollars and thought I would have drawn before this time but I dont know when it will come now. there were six eight men left our company the night before parson Hamel left McKinley was one of them two more three more lines west of Gansville. I understood that some men come & took one of the horses that McKinley brought home I think they will aim to go home eatables will bring almost any thing a man will ask for them. 

 

The boys will go to evry house in 2 or 3 miles evry eving to get something to eat milk butter onions lettus chickens bacon or any thing else that they can eat I do have the blues some when I think how things are carried on if I had know no family I would as live go one place as another but when a man has to leave his family where there is a probability of there being invaded by a savage foe I cannot help from contemplating it they tell us there will be plenty to protect the frontier I hope it will be so if there is danger you must try and get away Jess has got two wagons. I hope though there will be no necessity if I could get news from you evry week I would be better satisfied but that I cant get I have not received any news from Diamond yet I am afraid I will not be able to send you much more money as I shall be obliged to spend a little and we only get a little

 

               if the horses are doing well I believe you had better keep them awhile till they get fat any how then if you need money you can sell them. though it looks hard that we should spend what we have to live on when those that stay at home are making more than they ever did but no more of this now give Jess & Matilda my love & respects tell Eddy & Johny to be good boys and think of their pa & kiss Willie for me. so my love to you all no more but remain you afectionate husband                                   

Thomas W Johnson

              

With thee were the dreams of my earliest love

Evry thought of my reason was thine

In my last humble prayer to the spirit above

Thy name shall be mingled with mine

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