Knoxville Tenn. Oct 30 1863            

           

My dear Father

                        I now sit down to improve a few leisure moments in writing you I wrote home on monday the 12^th and informed you that we expected to leave for Knoxville and I also wrote on sunday the 18^th while on the march. We arrived here on wednesday after a march of 11 days over a very rough road over the mountains. I stood the march well owing in part to having our knapsacks carried on a team. Our Co engaged a man and team at London to carry our knapsacks to the Gap a distance of 60 miles. We passed through Barboursville on monday the 19^th and camped about a mile beyond. Tuesday we marched 16 miles to Cumberland Ford crossing and camped on the other side. after being in camp a short time Capt Cogswell commanding the reg't received a dispatch ordering him to return and meet a long train then on its way, accordingly nearly the whole reg't were sent back that night, but after going 6 miles back were met by Wilkins / and two or three others with a dispatch countermanding the previous one and ordering us to remain at the Ford till the teams came up. We accordingly about face and started back. a few of the boys arrived at camp the next morning. The rest stopping in the houses along by the road I went back to within 2½ miles of the Ford and stopped the remainder of the morning in a house. We stopped at the ford two days till the teams came up. On friday we started again in the rain and went to within 3 miles of the Gap and put up in some barns Saturday we marched to the Gap where we drew 4 days half rations of hard bread sugar coffee and salt we camped this night 2½ miles beyond the Gap. I presume you would like to know what sort of a place this Gap is memorable during this war I do not know as I can describe it to you well. It is as it name indicates a Gap in the mountains through which the road runs to Virginia and Tenn. we ascend to a considerable height, and at the Gap is a corner stone the boundary of the three states of Kentucky Tenn and Virginia, so a person by sitting on the stone is in three states at once. I will send in this a / piece of stone I picked up within a few feet of it the same kind of which this stone is worked out of. Sunday we marched 16 miles passing through the town of Tazwell. While at the Gap we engaged the team to carry our knapsacks clear to Knoxville we paid him $1.20 for the trip of 120 miles one cent a mile which is very cheap considering the road we have passed over. Monday we marched 7 miles when we came to the Clinch river and were ferried across on a flat boat and then marched 5 miles further. Tuesday we passed through Maynardsville marching 16 miles. Wednesday we marched to Knoxville and are camped about 1 mile from town. We have marched over 200 miles since we left Nickolassville. I am enjoying good health and have never stood a march better. We have not had much of a mail for some time till the night we arrived here where there was a large mail which had accumilated for us and I had been waiting long and anxiously for a letter from home as had not received any since the 2^nd of this month nearly one month and you may judge of my dissappointment in not receiving any. I trust you have written during / that time. now is the time if any that we want to hear from home when we are so far away as it is almost impossible to get newspapers except of old date There is I understand a small sheet called the Bulletin printed here. Parson Brownlow has not got his press in order yet. We have rumors here that Burnside is falling back in this place which is probably true as we have reasons to believe probably on account of the difficulty of getting supplies we are living on ¼ rations of everything but bread and meat. We had orders last evening to move this morning towards the front but it was countermanded and we may stop here a while. If it is not asking too much I would like to have you send me out another handkerchief as I did not get the other one How is Eddie getting along? We have had considerable rain here lately. Since writing the above in relation to that corner stone I have been given a piece of the stone itself which was broken off by one in our Co and so instead of sending the piece I intended I will send you this piece of the corner stone itself, and also these two pieces of cloth manufactured by hand in this part of the country. you will perceive it is very strong. it is woven on the old fashioned looms. But I have not much space left so I will draw to a close. Now do try and write often and tell the rest of the folks. Our mail is brought over the mountains on pack mules. Give my love to all Brothers Sister Mother and all and accept much from your dutifull Son

                                               

William W.

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