Camp Wood Jan the 7^th 1862

           

Dear Mother

                                    It tis with pleasure that i sit down this night to answer your welcome letter whitch i received to day and was hapy to hear ove you all being in good health i have got able to drill a gain Frank Mitchell is stil in louisville and James Huff they are getting better slowly and George Tailor when we was all well they was 7 in our tent and now they is 3 in the hospital and 2 lying sick in the tent sproul and i are the only 2                                                          turn over 

 

that is fit for duty they is allways two or three sick in our tent you want to know what cind of a bed i had when i was sick i had a bout 2 inches of straw betwheen me and the ground and no pillow you can judge for your self i had one quilt over me it was prety cold some nights Capt Harvy is well and getting a long very well and all the boys from a round their we have a good deal of sickness in our regiment yet feaver and measles are prety bad we have had one death in our company turn over / we have church on evry Sabeth if good weather harvy dose not preach any Mr Christy dose the preaching gust so it tis we had a great chrismas diner in camp hard crackers and a smaul piece of fat pork and water but i woryed it down like a little man we are still on this side of green river but i think we will soon leave for cave city a 11 miles further south we cant advance very fast for as the rebles dose retreat they tare up the railroad and burn the bridges it keeps us busy building them up turn over 

 

Some ove our troops is going over to morow we was out on picket the other night two miles on the other side of green river but wasent bothered anny with the rebles as we crossed green river the morning we went out on picket i stoped and looked at the troops and i never saw any thing nicer i dont think i will ever forget that morning we got to our post at 12 oclock and got a long very well till night and then it poured down the rain all night and a great thunder storm turn to the worst sleat 

 

they is four ove our regiments is going over the river to day to cave city i supose you will hear ove a fight then for they is a good many rebles their and they will be apt to try our men their we have to drill very hard now but we are getting prety well drilled now we have better grub now than we had some time a go you say that you wrote me three letters i received three but i answered all ove them as soon as i got them if you did not get three from me they was lost on the way turn over

 

we are very scarce of water here it is plenty a mile of but it is badly manged a bout getting it halled to us some days we cant get more than a pint and eating salt meat it dont do well it is very good water what we do get we could go for it our selfs if they would leave us out of camp but they wont leave us out a tall in fact it would not do to leave the men loose for they are so tiard staying in camp that they wouldent come in for to or three days and that wouldent do all of our boys is very anxious to get on to bolling green turn over 

 

we have some hard times here in bad weather as i hant mutch to write i will close this poorly written letter to a close i want you to write as soon as you receive this letter this is all at presant

                                                                                   

yours forever

Abram Kipp

                                                                                               

Eliza Bann

 

write soon as posible and write a long letter

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