Murffees Borow Tennessee

January the 21 1863

 

My affectionate Mother

              I seat my self this morning to answer your kind and welcome letter whitch i received this morning and was hapy to hear ove you all enjoying good health i am well and getting a long as well as i can expect you say you you herd we had a fight and we had and i wrote to you when i received the other letter you wrote to me i dont know why you dident get it i said some things a bout our fight it was a hard one but we won the day i tell you mother it was one of the hardest battles of the war we lost very heavy / they has a fiew of our wounded has died sense the battle our regiment lossed one hundred and eighty two killed wounded and missing it was a big loss to us they is a good many of our company is not well now but i think the reason is of our hardships on the battle field we lay nine days on the field without blankets and a good many had no over coats and the weather was very wet and cold i never want to witness sutch a sight a gain all the Westmoreland boys escaped without being hert only George tailor he was wounded slightly in the thigh but is fit for duty again i dont see why you hant got any letter from me / for i have wrote to you some time a go i tell you mother our hole army is getting very mutch discouraged fighting so mutch and dont seem to be gaining any thing and i tell you my opinion i dont think we will ever whip the south into the union for they have a prety large army and they have so mutch teritory to run over and i dont know any better way to do than to leave them have a southern confedercy if we dont they good men will soon all be killed of and have to give it up at the end but i am willing to do all i can as it is the rebles fought most desperate here we fought 8 days well i might call it nine days they drove us back the first day but after that we got the better of them / we have as brave a general as ever went into the field that is General Negley i do love him he rode up in front of our regiment the morning of the battle and said this regiment and my self is here all alone from our state and we will represent our state we cheered him and he ordered us to the front where the battle was raging he rode all day around us and evry now and then he would yell out go in to them pennsylvania we held our ground til both our right and left fell back then we was obliged to fall back the rebles was fiering on our three sides we fell back leaving all our wounded and dead on the field all that couldent get a way them selves a nother sheat 

 

the day we was marching into Murffess Borow General Rosecrans rode up to General Negley hitting him slightly on his back with the tears in his eyse General Negley your Division saved my army both days of the hardest fighting this was a fact our men fought allful hard our regiment was the first regiment in the town General Miler is our Brigade General and a good one he is to you will see all a bout it in the papers i wrote a letter to walter some time / a go and have not yet received any answer yet i would be glad to get a letter from him to know how he is getting a long i got them things you sent to me and was glad to get them i lost my blanket on the battle field. John Boyle got his i wont write any more a bout John if he wont write i wont write for him i wrote to Alie and Manda some time a go and have not got any answer from them yet i herd of daniel before before you wrote / to me you know how hard it is on me but it is a comfort to me to know that he was sutch a good boy i hope you will not fret your self a bout him i think he was prepared to meet his maker i tell you mother that i am trying to do better than i have been i read my bible more than ever i did i hope this unholy war will soon be over so we can meet again if walter was only at home i could rest mutch easyer but i hope he will get through safe we have very good comfortable quarters at presant if we only get keeping them i think the army will moove from here soon but i dont know whether we will be left here or not i hope we will we have only 31 privets in our company / officers and all 39 our company is very small i would like if you would let me know something a bout David Faulk i hant herd from him for a long time i will close this letter hoping to hear from you soon and of you all enjoying good health give my love to Giny Bily liza and all the family. i hope i will be spared to see you all a gain yours for ever

 

i remain yours truly Abram Kipp

                                                                                   

Eliza Bann

 

Direct Murffees Borow

Tennessee

 

write soon as possible

 

if Walter needs any money send him some of mine dont leave him want for money as long as they is any of mine their with you

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