Near Marksville June 16^th 1864

 

            Dear Wife I again take my pen in hand to write you a few lines hoping that they may find you all well & doing well I have not been very well for several days with the diarhea not bad enough though to be off of duty I have not any news but what you will have heard perhaps before you get this evry thing seems to be quiet here no enemy near that I know of it is reported that Lee has whipped Mead badly again in Virginia & I think that is reliable as there have been several federal papers seen that have acknowledged that Lee had the best of it I am very much in hopes that it is so for I am getting very anxious for this little affair to come to a close I dont think there is but one way for it to end & that is for the feds to give it up I think the length of it though depends a good deal on their nex presidential election if Lincoln is elected the war will continue if not I think it will end soon after that time Our greatest I think is in being starved out which from present appearances I fear will not take over another year or two crops of corn look well down here now but there is but little of it planted in comparison to their usual planting & very little sugar cane growing we have been living on short rations for a week or two untill the last two or three day we have had plenty but I suppose that it is getting pretty hard to get provision here we get meal & beef & salt & about enough of sugar & molasses to make us want more for the last week or two we have had some fine messes of blackberries we put them on the fire & sweeten with sugar or molasses & they eat fine we can buy sugar here for 75 cents a lb & molasses for 1.50 per gallon So we keep molasses nearly all the time our commissary ought to issue us what molasses & sugar we need but he wont get them for us we are near marksville where I wrote to you last we drill evry day but Saturday & Sunday four hours a day health of the troops tolerable good we have had a fine meeting going on here for the last week or two there are some thirty or forty mourners of a night a good many have professed religion & several have joined the church amongst them myself & I hope that I may have your prayers & supplications that I may hold out faithful that I may run a good race & when I leave this world that I may meet you in heaven heaven 

 

O how sweet the sound how cheering the thought that we all after passing through our trials our hardships our sorrows & tribulations here that we all shall meet in heaven yes Heaven The devil & wicked ones may cheat us out of our pleasures & joys here but if we will cast ourselves upon christ & hold out faithful they cannot cheat us out of our pleasures & happiness in Heaven & now my beloved wife & sister will you not covenant with me to meet each other in Heaven I know you will I feel like you would if you was here to day O then pray for me & for each other pray the Lord to bless & strengthen me that I may hold out faithful the temptations around me here are strong & many I will pray for you I do pray for you daily & I believe my prayers will be answered in that thing I got a letter from you yesterday No 1 written the 1^st March I have received No 13 of May 16 there are two due now this is No 18 I think I have written one or two & omited to number them them I will throw in I hope you are moved before this time & I hope you are plenty of milk & butter now well you are looking for something about me coming home & you will be disappointed as usual I cannot tell you one word about it I thought I would have got to come before now but have been disappointed in coming I sent up a petition but it only got to the Majors Hd Quarters he would not forward it why I do not know one thing about it there is no commissioned Officers in this Co. & I have been in command of the Co for the last month or two if we had a few more men present we could elect an Officer then I might stand a better chance to come home but I do not expect to come now till fall it is getting so warm to travel now & I could be more advantage to you in the fall than now that will not be long now though you will think it is. give my respects to Jess & family & the boys Tell Eddy I want to se him & Johny & Willie Kiss them all for & yourself you will not forget Give my respect to Mr Powel & Ellen & Betty O how my heart yearns to be with you all once more I have not heard any thing from Ed Milt only what you wrote I wrote him an other letter I hope he will write this time So I must close I will send you enough of paper to write a letter on So no more your affectionate Husband

                                                                                                           

Tho^s. W Johnson to M E Johnson

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