Camp in the Field May 23^d 1864

 

            Dear wife it is through the mercy of a kind & merciful providence that I am permited to address you again but it is at the same time with a troubled mind and an aching heart that I address you & if it was not my love for you promps me to write I would not write any at this time from this consideration that I started you a letter on the morning of the 21^st & secondly they have been granting furloughs & I have not been fortunate enough to get one not that I regret the not getting furlough so much for if there had have been persons that had stronger claims for one than myself I would have willingly give back but I think they have done me injustice & it dont set well but as it is over the best way for me will be to say no more about it & hope for the better next time if I knew I could start home two months it would probably suit me better than now as it would be a better time for laying in your bread I learn that in places in texas they have had fine rains & I am in hopes it may be the case in your part it is very dry here & prospects for crops are unfavorable there have been no season here yet to set out any thing & no prospect of rain soon this country has been nearly ruined by the federal army they burnt & destroyed as they went taking all the negroes & available stock with them they burnt up the most of Alexandria the federals are gone now they went to the missippi & took boats & left I am in hopes we will have some rest now we need it 

 

I have written you two letters in the last week one on the 15^th & one on the 21^st but I expect you to get this before either of the rest & I write again that on the 16^th we had a fight with the federals near Marksville Mansura fought them for three hours & had to fall back on account of their superior numbers we fell back some 6 or 8 miles & on the 18^th we attacked them near Yellow bayou the cavalry had been fighting them all morning we came up with them about 2 Oclk the 15^th Texas or Speights old regt Alexanders & Stones Battalion attacked them on the left & the Lousianans on the right our regt & the 17^th Texas was held in reserve their main force was brought to bear on our left wing where our Brigade was our right wing attacked & was driving them left when but on our left our men attacked them & they out numbered us so much & they also flanked us on our left & our men had to give way with heavy loss it would have been worse but our batteries let out opened on them & drove them back our regt & the 17^th was in no danger only from there artillery which play on us a while but done no hurt the loss of our Brigade was upwards of 200 in killed wounded & missing amongst them we lament the death of Colonel Stone who was killed in the action Parson Hamel's son was wounded in the foot our whole loss in killed wounded & missing I expect would reach 400 or upwards I think we done wrong in attacking them their whole force was there which must have been three to our one they were getting away as fast as they could & left us in possession of the battle ground we buried their dead 

 

            I will send this by Clark Loring he expects to start in the morning if you can you had better go up and se him he can tell you more than I can write I will try & get him to promise to go down & se you while he is at home there is a Mr Mathews that will start that I expect will go right through your neighbord he is acquainted through there but I could not tell him where or what neighborhood you lived in as you had never written to me the names of any of your neighbors nor the name of the place you live on he Mathews lives in the north east corner of denton Wise county probably he may call to se you before he leaves they it may be several days before he they get off as there furloughs have to be approved at Division head quarters I want to se you very bad but if I had a furlough I would have to walk home & back which would take one month then I would have one month to stay with you walking five four hundred & fifty miles & back is no little undertaking for me I would not mind it all if I could stay at home when I got there but they are getting very tight on men that stay over their time but this is all unnecessary for me to write as it will only trouble you for nothing So will not write much more now I shall have to depend upon you to act for yourself with what Jess can do for you give my love to Jess & family & a share to your self kiss the children tell them I want to se them very bad     yours until death        

Thomas W Johnson /

 

May 26^th 1864

Dear Wife as my letter has not got off yet I will write a few more lines I am now in very good health the boys furloughs all came back disapproved with orders that there should only be two granted to such companies as had over thirty men present which knocked this company with the most of the others out of but one furlough also those companies that had men furloughed & they had not come back could get any further a man that gets a furlough has to promise that he will try or seek a detail in any maner while he was gone I had thought all along that if I could get a furlough for sixty days that on a pinch I could strech it a little but under the circumstances I should have to get back to the time if it took me all the time to come & go dont infer though that I dont expect to go come home for I expect to come when ever I can get a chance but you se now that I could not be much advantage to you only the pleasure and satisfaction of seing & being with you all a while which would be a great pleasure indeed but we will have to submit to such things as we cant help & I hope you will try & bear up under your trials & tribulations as would become a true christian. Give Jess my respects to Jess & tell him I wish do the best he can in getting your supplies as I do not know of any other person to depend on only him & yourself I wrote you in the outset that Clark Loring was coming this new order cut him out of coming he will get to come when the man that goes (Mathews) comes back I will send this by Mathews I expect him to start to morrow I do not think we will have much to do for a while I think we are waiting to se what movement the federals make they left here we heard that Lee has whipped them badley in virginia. So give my love to all & a share to yourself   yours in love

T. W. Johnson

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