Racine Wis. Aug. 23, 1862

 

Dear Martha

By a good right I should write to Bell but I have left it appears her letter at Aztalan so I will answer yours & defer hers still longer.

 

I will first notice some things in your letter. I suppose it is a fact that William is a Church-member. Uncle Taylor once told me he belonged to the Methodist Church. I think you should trust William as well as you did formally only not be so thick with him or go around with him much. I believe Aunt Julia should know all about it & Mother tell her. I am now as you see from the heading of this letter at Racine. This is one of the largest cities of Wisc. & it lies upon the lake of Michigan. I like the city generally for it has many pretty shady streets & at not a few points it has commanding views of the lake.

 

Steamers & sail vessels quite as large as are usually seen at New York are found on this lake. I cannot see across the lake here but if the country upon the other side had mountains I think / I might discern them with the eye. To-day there is what I would say in the city a slight wind, but on the lake shore it is a little stronger & it must be still stronger out on the lake for the waves do thrash the shore beautifully. The waves to day are the largest ever I saw. When I was down on the ocean it was remarkably quiet. From my room which is about ¼ of a mile from the lake the roar of the waves thrash the shore so hard that the roar of them sounds into my room with the window down, a sound that is like the fierce wind of winter about the window. Racine has many nice dwellings & many pretty girls,—unless I have been in the country & seen homely girls so long my taste has become perverted.

 

This is Sat. eve & to-morrow I shall probably have the pleasure of hearing fine singing & an organ. I have not heard good singing since in Janesville. The 22nd Regt is to encamp here & I came having the promise of a berth under the Q.M.; but much to the surprise of all the Q.M. has been gone to Madison several days for supplies when he should have  been here & attending to his business or putting things through for the Regt are waiting. I think the Q.M. / will resign for he is disgusting the Col & other officers. I do not like the move of any of them. I had rather serve as private under Nat Lord—unprincipled as he is,—than to hold a good office in this Regt. I shall back out if I can handily. Tell Father to get me the Q.M. Sergeant or Commissary Sergeant at home if he can. If he can get it & sure of it telegraph to me at Watertown to be sent by mail from there to Aztalan to me. I am very anxious to get some such place for things are coming to that pass (I think) that all young men will have to go. Wis. has not quite made out her quota & will have to draft in some towns. I think they will make another call soon & then they will draft here sure. I wonder if I will have to get a permit of the In. Co if I am drafted? If I am drafted I'll tell them I can't pay for a permission to go. I think I shall have to be negligent.

 

Much to the surprise of Uncle Charles' folks they had a letter from a son, Edgar, working in Ill where Mason Knapp is that he had enlisted. It surprised them because he had not talked of going. Uncle Chs went to Janesville to have another son, Silas, go with Edgar if he (Silas) was bound to go. And when I came from A. Uncle & Silas had gone to Chicago & I guess Silas will go. Even Uncle Charles who is too old to be drafted talks some of going and I see he is a man that when excited is bound to carry it out far as it will go & I would not wonder much if he would enlist. I guess Aunt Eliza does not much expect Uncle will go. She feels very bad about the boys agoing. Lane, their oldest boy has been gone they do not know where several years & in the list of wounded of one Wisc Regt a name like his was down but they could not find out certain whether it was him or not.

 

I think Aunt Eliza is very good, the best relative I have here though you need never let them know I think so. She is an awful talker, but very kind hearted. I know now how it is you are invariably late at Church when I go with you, or rather how it is you make such a great fuss when you are going to a party or the like—more stir & talk & waiting on than is needful to go to Europe. I say I see you came honestly by it for Grandmother D is just such a fuss on that point. Having nothing to do she is generally on hand but she will set like a monument with everything ready & talk & wonder why they do not start, and all in all you two are much alike as to this.

 

Every crazy man I meet I examine him & report at Headquarters whether it is Uncle Harry or not. To day I saw one in the street going along & I followed along eyeing him & finally talked with him some. He acted in some things very much like Harry but I hardly think it was him. He had dark eyes which Harry has not I think.

 

I do not know as I have told you that Uncle Chs has got to be a Grandfather. Emily his oldest child has a baby, a little girl & are as well as could be expected. Did I tell you I put up in stooks most all of Uncle Samuel's wheat as fast (most) as a reaper cut it & seven men bound it? I also worked a day & a half when he stacked his wheat. They stack all their grain here. Sometimes it is in the stack two years. Do you get the Scientific American?

 

I have also knock around considerably to get more rugged as walking &c. I think nothing of walking ten / miles now. I have rode horseback some. A day or two since I rode about ten miles horseback after supper. It was with a California saddle too which I like better than our saddles. I often thought of Father while on it. One week I had nice times. Mr. Masters let me take his span of horses & use them as much as I wish, & I did sport it well. I borrowed a side saddle & took the girls, schoolmarms &c. to ride went riding in a wagon, & took once a large load to a pic-nic. The other day while going along in the streets of Milwaukee, several boys were ahead and I thought as I glanced at them one face was familiar & taking a second look I concluded it was John Jordan. I put my hand on his shoulder, he turned & knew me immediately. He was soon to return to Oshkosh so I had only a short visit with him. The folks are all well. I had a letter from him a few days ago & he has enlisted.

 

I do not know what is to become of us as a nation. I think the war stands a good sight of holding out a long time yet and business will be dull as you please. I wish Father was here and we could get up a few, some of which had crossed / the Plains, I would like to go to California, for this war is agoing to effect our Pacific States but very little & money will be plenty there. In your last you talk rather blue. You must not feel so. Many a family are far worse off than ours. Many a family has to mourn the loss of a number or one crippled by wounds. I have got much of the mastery of my blues & I hope to keep so.

 

I shall expect soon to hear how Grandmother's picture was received. I am very anxious to hear what Father & Mother said about it. It is very natural & everyone thinks so here.

 

You will see she is pretty straight.

 

I send another of the pictures & will send the next one in my next or soon. Uncle Em, Father & you are to have each one. She wanted Uncle Em to have the first choice & Father next. I think Uncle Em & Grandmother look most alike of any of the family. Try Uncle Em's Aunt as I wanted you to try Father & Mother & see if they will know the picture.

 

Uncle Samuel has only one—Albert—in his family liable to a draft & he intends hiring a substitute if he can, should he be drafted. He says he will pay a substitute 500 rather than have Albert go.

 

A week ago to day was my brother's birth-day. I do not believe he thought it any oftener during the day than I did. I wanted to celebrate the day by making a little pic-nic with a few friends or doing some charitable deed, but I was busy all day & did not. Very poor people in the small places here are very rare & not abundant in the largest cities.

 

I have scratched over considerable space and still have not said much that can be of much interest. I hope Father will use every means to get into the Army now for now is the time & business is agoing to be bad some time yet.

 

You must not think it strange if I get into the Army yet, even in no higher place than a private for I think all young will have to go. So far as I am concerned I would not scruple a hair was I drafted. I would rather volunteer than stand a draft anyway. The greatest dred of being a soldier to me is the demoralizing effect of the camp. A dozen deaths are not so bad as the darts of sin. I think I could come out with a sound character but I must be hard hearted, rough and unfeeling. Love to All Write soon.

 

Your dear brother

John

 

[margins]

Monday Aug. 25. Leave Racine this morning shall not go in the 22nd Regt

 

Direct at Aztalan as usual.

 

It was fortunate for me that I not go in the 22 Regt for it met with a grt deal of misfortune.

 

It seems that for some reason I did not think it best to tell the family at the time of writing this that I had enlisted as I did Aug 15th. J P D Apr 23 1900

 

My estimation of the 22nd Wis seems to be confirmed by its history J P D 4/23 1900

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