Franklin                     

March the 27  1862

 

Dear Mother

                        I seat my self this morning to answer your welcome letter whitch i received on yesterday and was hapy to hear from you and to hear ove you all being well we have left Nashville and mooved on 16 miles we are garding the tennessee and daton railroad our regiment is strung out 45 miles a long it they is three companeys here and the rest is all a long. they reason why they is three companeys here is we have a town to gard the town is called franklin it is a very nice town it is a bout twice as large as freeport this is a beautiful country and all ove tennessee that i have saw yet it is very levill and very nice buildings we have some cavelry with our three companeys last night they was a light saw some distance up the railroad our cavelry rode up in full speed but they was no one to be seen but they was a large fier built on the railroad i supose it was the citizens for for they ant anny reble soldiers a long here now but we have to keep a sharp loock out for they citizens i dont know whether we will stay here or not but i hope we will for i am tiard travleing it is reported here that our troops holds Richmond now and that Jeff Davis give him self up i hardly think it is so turn over / all ove general M^ckoocks Division is ordered on with out tents or knapsacks to cut of the rebles retreat from Richmond if this is done they will have to sirrender or have a hard fight our men has been fighting at iseleand nomber 10 on the Missippi for some days back but i think our men will gain the day i wush this war was over for our company is getting pretty well well used up standing gard and picket and exposed to all the storms and cold weather i am confident that i ant half as good a man now as i was when i left home i am began to feel it now in my limbs i must tell you that Captain Harvy is the most severe [faded] Captain on his men in the regiment and he is blamed very hard for taking to mutch licker some times i must tel you we hant had a bite of meat for five days back and nothing else only coffee and crackers it makes it pretty tough but we are getting use to it you are allways wanting to know how we get a long i tel you we have had a hard siege ove it sense we came to Kentuckey first but dont leave anny person know it if you please our regiment was paid the other day for two months but that lotment roll kept me out of all mine it will be paid at Kittaning to dan if they send him a check from Washington i signed all ove mine on it but i am a fraid i will loss all ove it but i ant the only one for most all ove the Regiment signed it it may be [faded] but i ant a feard of it

                                                           

turn over /

i received that dolar you sent to me and was very glad to get it i was hard up for money a person might think a soldier dident need anny money he has to have paper to write on and stamps and tobaco and very often not a nought to eat and a little money comes very handy. i have never yet spoke a bout my wheat if it is thrashed i want you to sell it and pay the thrashing and hands if it will do it and if they is anny left send it to me in smaul bills i supos it will be smaul bills and very fiew at that but i dont care if it is only one dollar and i dont supose it will be mutch more for i have suffered more for the want of something to eat here than i want to do a gain dont mention this to any person we are kept in camp very close when we ant on duty or we could find some way of getting something. i supose the home gards is stil sperging a round their as usual it makes me mad when i hear ove them throughing them selves a round their and blowing a bout the big battles that is fought Ale is allways talking a bout them singings i would rather not hear from them for singings dont do me any good now if i was their i could enjoy them we have had a week of beautiful weather here all the boys from a round their is well only Jim Wilson he ant fit for duty but i think he ant as bad as he lets on Will Huff is sick and Jim [paper hole] the hospital turn over 

 

our second lieutenant is lying very long in the hospital at presant and our Captain is gone home on a ferlough you speak a bout me not writting more to Ale you may think it strange but we cant get time to finish one letter with out being called out for some thing or a nother they peech trees is out in blossoms down here now but we are some distance from home we are now close to nine hundred miles from home when our regiment arived here where we are now and lay the night, in the morning the rest of the company left i tell you it went hard to see our regiment cut up so bad when [faded]

 

hoping to get [faded]

us gust as [faded]

but i hope we [faded] before a great while to [faded] home whitch i sincerely think [faded] first of July

theas fiew lines [faded]

Ant mary [faded]

 

that i now i will close this letter hoping to hear from you soon [faded] Kipp Esqr

 

            [direction faded]

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