Fort Harrison Oct 16^th 1864

           

Dear Phemia

                                    Your kind letter of the 10^th inst. reached me yesterday morning. I am glad to hear you are as well as usual, but I am sorry to learn that you are not improving as formaly. I had hoped to hear that your health was steadily improving until you were as well as before you were taken sick. But I am glad to know you have so far recovered as to be able to walk about and enjoy some of the pleasures of life and I trust your health will soon be improving again for when we meet again (which I hope may be before many months) my earnest wish is to find you in the enjoyment of good health. I am still in the same place that I was when I wrote last. We are still strengthening the fort and we have now got it in a condition to defend ourselves against any attact the enemy can make, and we feel comparatively safe / while we hold this position and the enemy seem to be satisfied that they cannot retake it, for they have made no efforts to do so in the last eight or ten days and every thing along our lines in this vicinity is nearly as quiet as if no war existed. Deserters continue to come in very fast. Every night we can hear the enemy shooting at their own men who are trying to desert, and every one that is fortionate enough to succeed in geting away tells of hundreds of others that are only waiting for a favorable moment to escape. This general desertion from all parts of their army I take to be one of the most favorable signs of the war, and I believe one or two more telling victories at this present time would cause a general revolt in the enemies ranks and I believe we will soon see the end of the rebellion if we meet with no reverses. I read a letter yesterday, written by Charlie to D. W. Redfield. He was at Hampton hospital near Fort Monroe. His wound he said was doing as well as could be expected. His foot had been pretty badly swollen but the swelling had gone away, and his wound was then doing well. / I am very sorry indeed that he was wounded. every good soldier is needed in the field, but as we cannot avoid such things, I trust it will result in returning him safely to his friends until he shall have recovered, and then I hope there will be no farther need of his service in the field

 

The weather in the day is warm and pleasant but the nights are quite cold. We have had several pretty hard frosts which make it rather uncomfortable to sleep in shelter tents and in the open air as many of us do. Last year we went into winter quarters about this time in the year. But I do not expect the army will go into winter quarters this fall until this campaign is ended, and probably the campaign will last until some desided result is accomplished. I am sorry that my letters are sometimes delayed in reaching you. however I will continue to write every week if I can and hope you may receive them more regular hereafter. I sometimes fail to receive your letters regular and I can assure you I miss them very much when such a delay takes place. But I have been pretty fortionate in receiving / them the most of the time. It seems you have some idea of staying in Steuben Co. this winter. If it will prove a benefit to your health I hope you will stay, and if circumstances places me in a situation to get a furlow this winter, you may expect to see me in that vicinity, for you do not know how much I wish to see you again (but  have no prospect of geting a furlow at present.) for I feel as if I could talk with you with more freedom now than I could then while you were so sick. I have often thought of one thing you told me then, which was [numerical code] Do you [code]. I hope you are, for it would be a satisfaction to know that you are not discouraged in any thing, darling. I am very grateful dear Phemia for your prayrs and love, and my earnest wish is that I may ever be found worthy of the pure love of my little Queen. With such love I feel rich, even in poverty, and I thank God for giving me such a true friend. I hope I may hear from you often as usual. Goodbye for the present. May Guardian Angels watch over you and protect you from all harm. Truly and Affectionately

                                                                                                           

Russell F. Wright

 

To Euphemia O. Gillet

 

 

[enclosed fragment]

 

In regard to your future cares of life, Do you still entertain the same opinion, or are you more hopeful of fully recovering from your sickness

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