Murfreesboro Tennessee

March the 2^d 1863

                       

Dear Mother

                      I seat my self to answer your kind letter whitch i received a fiew minets a go i was hapy to hear ove you all being well i received a letter from you and lida on yesterday dated Febuary the 1 they was very old so i dont think i need answer yours as it is so old but i will answer lideas to night if i have time you want to know a bout Bob Smith he was sick in the hospital at Nashville the time of the battle he is here now with the regiment and had his discharge papers made out and alowed to go home and the head doctor sayd his papers wasent made out right so i dont now whether he will try it a gain or not he loocks very bad but he is runing a round some i dont think he will die soon if he dont get worse. Frank Mitchell is well and he is my bed felow and Dan Shearer is well and getting a long as well as can be expected and abb Cinison is well and Johns Reed is well and all the boys is in good health you want to no something a bout Leonard Snell he belonged to the 64 Ohio regiment we saw him once at last winter at green river and he left their and went to Shilo and from that up the tennessee river to a place called Stevenson their regiment was with General Buels army and when our army retreated from their he was sick and could hardly raise his head and he fell in the enimeys hands so his company says they think he died that was last august if he hadent of died he would of be exchanged if he had beed a prisoner when he was left their he had all his money in his pocket so his friends said Dan Shearer went out to his division to see a bout him and that is what they told him so i think he is dead. i received a letter from Mrs Martain from the sodaworks she takes it very hard a bout Jimy i was sory to hear of it. well Mother they is three of us boys got a box full of little cedar trees that we will start for home on tomorow morning Dan Shearer Johnson Reed and my self we got them of the battle field of Murfreesboro they are a nice thing if they will grow i think the best place to plant would be a bout the spring you can try some of them in the garden you will have to put lots of stone under them and a round them one big flat stone right under them so the roots wont grow deep we will send the box to David reed we will send it by express take care of them if you can. i wrote to you that i hadent got a letter from liza but i got it on yesterday i was glad to hear of her writing so well they was one month on the road i will answer her letter to night i havent had a letter from Walter for two weeks but i am expecting one soon. i sent for money if you hant sent it allrady dont send it for we was paid here a fiew days a go our lotment roll is broke at last i only drawed 85 dolars this time we had to pay for all the clothing we drawed over 42 dolars worth for the first year i had over 16 dolars over my alowance i would send some of it home if i thought it would go safe but it is very unsafe at presant i got them stamps on yesterday that you sent me well Mother you speak a bout some of the home gards you would like to see them out i now i would and i think be fore three weeks they will a good many of them have to come out Mother you hant the least idea of what a fuss the the northern Dimicrats has got up in the army go where you like and ask any soldier what he thinks of things at home they will say i will go home any minet and help to kill evry man of them and burn of their property i am sory for some of them when the soldiers gets home but the union is all up with us if they keep going on in the north and if they do god help them i would this day like to see the reble army invading Pennsylvania if the movement wouldent suffer but if it was the case them is the very ones that would suffer but i think it will soon be over some way or a nother i am glad that walts time is so near up i have 18 months to stay yet. i am sory that say that the people at home has diserted us after getting us to go out and then to try to to over throw us now when we are trying to save the union i would like to talk to you a fiew minets on this subgect i am a fraid Jim Daugherty will have to come out yet and Henry Hawk. Ban Kallis i gess got mad at me for writing my opinion to him but it is no diference to me as i hant mutch to write i will close this leaves me well

                                   

write soon Abram Kipp

                                               

Eliza Bann

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