Chattanooga Tennessee

December the 13^th/63

                       

Dear Sister

                  kind providence has again permitted me to adress you I resieved your ever kind and welcom letter today wich was written on the 6^th of this month and I am as usual happy to hear from you again and to hear that you ware well and injoying your self so well your letter found me well and in good spirits at this time and I hope thes few brief lines may find you injoying all the blessings of life you sayed that you wrote your letter with a heavy heart because you had not heard from me since the battle but you should not let such things as that trouble you you must keep up your spirits and never alow yourself to be down harted or never borrow trouble untill you have a good reason to but look to him that rules all things to the God of battle to him that is ever merciful to us his disobedient children I have no doubt but what you felt anxious to hear from me since the late fight and I should written before this but you must forgive me if I for being so neglectful you must forgive me this time and I will endever to do better in the future you must not think that I have forgotten you for I have not I often think of you and long see you once more face to face 

 

We are still at Chattanooga and we will probely stay here the winter as the Rebels have ben driven from our front with heavy loss they have resieved a severe blow such a blow that they will not be able to recover from very soon We took seven or eight thousand prisoners from the Rebs in taken Lookout mountain and misionary ridge they have ben driven pel mel back towards Atlanta Georgia I think we will not have eney more fighting here this winter for our army is not redy to follow the Rebs very far this winter but the Rebels will hardly trouble us again very soon our Regment (the 2th Minnesota) was in the fight and lost 35 men in killed and wounded All the hospittals in Chattanooga are again full of wounded men boath of the Rebels and our men but they are sending them North as fast as they are able to be moved they has quite a number of them have died of there wounds since the battle There is thousands of our brave boys lying under the sod in and around this place and it hard to tell how many more will find a solitary will find grave before this evil war is over I saw cousin Clinton Sealy yesterday and he is well and is gitting along finely I have not seen frank latly so I canot tell you eny thing about him I got a letter from Emely a fiew days ago and she says that they was all well at home I got a letter from Johns wife and they was boath well well I must close you must excuse this poor writing and all mistakes you must write often for your letters are allways welcom From your most afectionate brother George Rutherford

                                               

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