Columbia  Tennessee

August the 15^th 1862

 

Dear Mother

                        It is pleasure for me to sit down to write you a letter i received your kind and welcome letter on yesterday and was hapy to hear ove you all enjoying good health my health has been very good for some time and i am getting a long very well we are a gain in Columbia but only six companeys ove our regiment they is two at Pulaski and the other two is at elk river below Pulaski 18 miles you say you have not received a letter from me for six weeks i have wrote to you three letters at least in that time but they might ove been taking over by the Rebles for they have taking several trains from us betwheen here and Louisville but they couldent hold the / road any length of time the garillias is raging in tennessee and we have 80 of them here in the gard house they room we have them in is a prety large one and we have a large chalk mark a round on the floor and get them inside of the mark and our orders is to shoot the first man that setts his foot over the chalk mark but we hant had the chance to shoot any of them yet you say dan and Walter is gone to war well Mother i think you can rest eassy a bout them getting into a fight i dont think they will ever get into a fight they will be kept back and the old troops sent and we have been expecting a fight here ever sense we came here last we are ordered into line of batle allmost evry night and we have to sleep by our guns so to be ready in a minet for a fight i am glad to hear ove the / recruits coming out so fast it dont seem to rouse parks any nor Sprowles boys i hope they may be drafted i am a fraid that we will have to leave Tennessee before long if we dont get reinforcements for the rebles has a large force at Chattanooga and if they whip our force their they will drive us right out out ove our six Companeys we cant muster over 250 men fit to fight they is one sargent out ove all our companeys sent home to recruit for our regiment our company wants 15 men to fill it up a gain to the old standard. we are ordered to day to be ready for a fight that [faded, paper fold] cavelry crossed the tennessee river on yesterday for this place but i gudge it is a [?] we hant had any church for a month where the chaplain is i cant tell our boys are waiting very anxiously for the niew recruits /

 

Mother i dont think you ought to think hard of Walt and dan going out now it is only 9 months and i wouldent want to see them drafted for my part i dident want walt to go but as he is gone dont you bother your self a bout it he is safe a nough i think you will get some of my letters before you get this one  give my love to all enquiring friends as i hant mutch time to write i will close hoping to hear from you soon a gain tell all to write to me alie need not expect me to write as often as she can they is a good many things in the road to what it would be at home nothing more at presant write soon

                                               

Abram Kipp

                                                           

Eliza Bann

 

direct as before but dont put the captains name on

 

tell Bily he had better go out to

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