Camp near Harissonburg Aug 9^th 1864         

 

                        Dear Wife I will trouble you again with a few lines to let you know that although I cannot trouble you with my presence I will still do so with my pen & think you will not take it a miss when I tell you I still want to se you as bad as ever & hope you will not think hard of me when I tell you that the prospect for seeing you seems to get darker & further off all the time I sent my last letter by Clark Loring you will have learned by that that we were then on the march well we camped there at Alexandria two days then took up our line of march towards trinity which we made in due time & camped there one night the next morning we took up the line of march towards this place the morning was clear & very warm the roads very dry & dusty but after we had travelled about an hour it began to rain & rain it did for about two hours it almost poured down so when it quit raing the water mud in the roads was from shoe mouth to knee deep it turned in the mean time cool the men while it was raining travelled more like wild cattle running off than men. we were nearly all without our coats & suffered more or less from cold when we stoped which was about six miles from this place the next morning we came to this place which was day before yesterday & by the by soon after we got here I took a chill again the result of getting wet but I took medicine & have missed to day this being in the evening of the second day since & feel very well so I think I will not have any more now for a while I have not learned for what purpose we have come up here for yet probably though it was to get bread as there is a good deal of corn on the tensaw yet we will likely remain here at this camp several days part of this division have crossed over the Washita & gone up the Tensaw we may go soon there is said to be some 4000 feds over about Natchez but I dont think there will be much fighting over there soon all the news we get from across the river is good & prospects for peace seem to brighten evry day but news is so uncertain these days a person dont know what to believe Our Division of the army & Walker's are both here

 

I received your letter of the 19^th ult N^o 19 wich I read with a great deal of satisfaction it gave me pleasure to hear from you & to hear that you were all well that is what I wish to se first when I get your letter. I had expected though you would have been moved before that time & sorry that water is so scarce there if Jess dont move & hardly know how to advise you as it looks like you are too much crowded to remain there if I could see any chance for coming home soon I would say hold on till I came but I dont see any as the furloughing is stopped now untill further orders & that may be a long time off, & one of our men has failed to come / back that was furloughed last why they stopped furloughing I am not able to say I am afraid if you go back to town that you would suffer for would next winter, but you will have to be the judge of that if I dont come

 

            I was glad to hear of your being at meeting once more & of your enjoying yourself I think you are getting along admirably in regard to clothing I think your dress very pretty & would be mighty glad to se you wearing it & I think you will have an extra pair of shoes I think if I can get to come home again to live that you can support us both very well. we have a meeting commenced here again very warm last night a good many mourners up. God grant that they may all find peace to their souls I had the pleasure of receiving a letter from Ed Milt yesterday it was written July 17^th he was then at Batesville Ark & was well & in fine spirits he said he had heard nothing definite from North Mo for along time but thought he would this fall as he expected they would go on in to Mo he had received a letter from you & one from me he said after their fight in Ark they went on to Dardanelle where they drove off a regt of feds & took a large amount of Quarter masters & commissary supplies & since that they had captured a gunboat on White river at Clarendon took a good many prisoners &c I shall answer his letter in a few days I expect he has written to you if you write to him direct your letters as same as before I would like wonderful well to hear from our folks in north Mo now. I se you are getting very tired of texas or have you always been so I getting very tired of this State I know well as I have nearly run out of material I will relate what happened a few nights ago we call it the Stampede it was very hot that day & we had a good ways to go so we marched on till 10 OClk & laid up till evening & the wagons went on & camped & didnt leave more than about 1/3 of enough of ground for us to camp on comfortably where we camped was in the bottom thickly grown up mostly of small saplings & brush some green briers the men barely had enough room to build their fires & lay down our wagons were scattered round through the Brigade the mules tied to them the men all lay down as usual about 3 OClk in the morning evry thing was still & it was very dark one of the mules got loos with a chain to it & started out through the men one of them heard it & raised up scared & began to hollow hooah hooah hooah before you could think there was the most intense excitement I ever witnessed the impression was that the beef cattle was scattered through the Brigade men got up running in evry direction the first tree they could get to they'd get behind Some run up trees with nothing but their shirt on Some would stand & throw both hands & hollow for life I think nearly evry man in the Brigade was hollowing a good many hurt themselvs Some skined their knees climbing Some have very sore legs yet & it's wonder some didnt kill themselves as they could scarcely see any thing

                                                                                                           

ThoWJohnson

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