I put in all of the at once I hope they will come

 

Springfield January 4, 1862

 

Dear Wife

            As this is Sunday & I am idle I will write you again I can have a little chat with you & you can reply at your leisure I am quite well now but time drags verry slowly & I do not know how how soon I can leave but will on the first opportunity I have that is safe I have visited all the Hospitals & found all the boys we have left & many more of the regiment they seem verry glad to see me & ask many questions about home & friends Many I never mind of seeing rush up and shake hands as warmly as though they were brothers / I spent part of the day yesterday at what is called the Berry or convalescent Hospital & took dinner with them they had a verry good dinner Many of the citizens of Bloomington would be glad of as good They had plenty of potatoes beef & beef soup well seasoned & bread and water but coffee or tea some complain at that but the most they complain of is not being allowed to go out of the yard which is the regulations of all the Hospitals there is about 8 acres in the Berry H grounds & not more than ½ in the Hotell H yard which does confine them verry close they get stupid & lazy I got liberty of the Doctor to take some of them out to church about ¾ of a mile they got along fine Sutton was one the 2 Busicks & 3 others There are some as able / in the Hospital as I am but play off complain of their backs so the Drs cannot tell but it may last They are fat & sleek (& say sick) Two of our Company Kizer & Burket wanted a discharge & to get it wrote out an account of their pains & diseas & sent it in to the Doctor offering 25 Dollars each if he would procure their discharge he cursed them some but told them he would get their discharge & ordered them to get their knapsacks & he would send them over to town so off they went their complaint & offers before them to the head surgeon They soon got a discharge from the Hospital & sent to the Regiment there will be no more Bounties offered for discharge there as all know it as a good joke The boys have been down & took Vanburen & fort Smith & are or have returned to Prairie Grove / where I hope to meet them soon I will send you a Secesh curiosity in the shape of a steel plate taken from a coat of mail found on a dead Cesesh as I have been informed Amos saw it & will explain it to you easier than I can I will send 3 but at different times as they are to heavy to all come at once One for Minier one for A & be sure to keep one the first one you get I will still pick up one thing and another I picked of some of those tea berries you see on the road I will send them also in this if I have not lost them The mail leaves here evry day for the Regiment so I suppose all mail matter goes in good time

 

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to your Mothers & will write me verry soon we have beautiful weather here now & has been all winter

           

now good By Dearest on earth

O Barnard

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