Camp rannolds June the 17^th 1862

 

Dear Mother

I seat my self this morning to answer your welcome letter whitch i received on yesterday and was happy to hear from you all being well i am with the regiment again and my hand is well a nough to cary a gun a gain now as you must know the perticulars i will give them to you and i hope you will not leave anny person see this letter we are now within four miles ove the tennessee river our pickets and the rebles can talk a cross the river to one and a nother we have been fiered on several times by them but they done no harm the country a long the river is a swamp for a mile back and the country all through alabama is very rough and hily they is very little grain in this state but a good deal of corn and it loocks pretty well alabama is the worst state we have come through but i hope that Missippi will be a better state than this we are about 1 one hundred miles from the missippi line i expect we will go their yet before the war is over they people may think we have easy times because we hant been in a battle but we have saw some hard survice they reason why we are put by hour selves is that hour Colonel wont obey our Generals orders and he keeps us a way from him they General told our captain that  turn over / our cornel had as good a regiment as they was in the survice and that he would give us this post he said that our cornel was a man that was fit to take us into a fight and that this post was a post of honer and a post of great danger and he says that the 78^th regiment has done more hard survice than anny regiment in the army in the western division and i do believe it. they is a great many of our regiment that is very hard up for clothing at presant but i think we will get some clothing in soon and our officers has got to be regular tyrants over us boys but we cant help it at presant they make us drill evry day in the boiling hot sun whitch they ant a nother company in the regiment that drills out in the sun they could gust as well drill us in the shade as not and it is very seldom that they is one of the freeport boys putt on gard because they are all clogged togather so we have a prety hard time ove it on that acount Mr Harvy has resigned and is going home and Robert Smith is well and getting a long very well and Shearer John Boile William Sproull and Wilson is getting a long very well they are all in good health and Huffs boys is now with us and loocks well and harty we have some very hard times now and then for the want of grub it has got to be a common thing for us to run short of grub a bout evry week and do without for a fiew meals they sun is very hot down here now and expect to go soon to where it will still be hotter            turn over 

 

they is a great talk in camp ove us going to a place called Huntsville in a day or so and i think that likely we will go that is a bout 75 miles as near as i can tell we are camped right in the woods and we sleep on the ground we hant had anny tents with us for the last six weeks the nights here are very cool and in day time it is so hot that we cant breathe. they wheat down here is cut and halled in but it was hardly worth cutting. they boys are all in good spirits considering the usage we have but we are all willing to stand it til the war is over it may be some time yet before it is over but we can make it out i now they is a great many dizerters passing north from the reble army this while past but cant get mutch information from them it has been a common talk with our men for a long time that the rebles had no good guns and nothing to eat this is all a humbug for the night before they left corrinth they burnt meat all night to keep us from getting it and they was a nough left that they couldent burn to do our army that is at corinth for a month and they couldent get their canon all a way and they buryed them and put up a board at both ends of the hole and wrote on the names of officers to make our men believe that it was graves but hour men found them out they rebles has gust as good arms as we have and they use them to a good advantage to but we have them serrounded pretty close now i think    turn over 

 

it is reported here that the leventh and eight Pennsylvania regiment had a hard fight a day or so a go if it is so i want you to write and tell me if any of the boys was killed or wounded from a round their theas fiew lines leaves me well and in good spirits we had preaching last Sabbath and they was only 24 men out to church the priest preached and most of the boys dont like his profession and for that reason they wont go they was some talk that they officers was going to make us cary a rail on our shoulder for not tending church i have received all the money that you have sent to me and i was glad to get it i hope i will see the day that i can pay you back and to talk to you a bout things that has hapened sense i saw you i must say that i would like to see you all specialy Billy and Jinny for i often think of him when i am out on picket at night when he is sound a sleep they has been orders come in sense i commenced this letter for 7 of our companeys to leave for some place i cant tell where we have to stay as usual i will have to close this letter for the want of ink i am a shamed to tell you that i will have to frank this letter i cant get stamps for any money and i cant pay it for they cant change a dolar bill this is all at presant do not leave anny person read this letter yours til death Abram Kipp to His Kind Mother answer soon give my best respects to all my enquiering friends

 

direct Camp Rannolds 78^th Regt P.V. C. F

write soon and dont leave                   Alabama

 

this letter be seen by any one else

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