John M. Atwood to Sister, 17 April 1864
Annapolis Md
April 17th 1864
Dear Sister
I recieved your letter Tuesday and was glad to hear from you and hear that you were well and the rest of the family. I am enjoying the best of health and are enjoying myself firstrate or at least as much so as any one can when they are under military subjection for in this business you know that anyone is the same as tied for they are under a lot of Officers so they cannot do as they are a mind to but they cant play it much on us Old Soldiers for we know how to take the advantage of these things and do about as we are a mind to. So for myself I get as much liberty as I want but them fellows that have been out but a year or two are afraid to take the advantage
Today is Sunday and stormy so I thought I would improve the time by writeing to you. In your letter you wished to know what kind of wether I had for my journey. I had pretty good wether the most of the way with the exception of the first two days we had a snow storm it fell about a foot deep between Knoxville and Chatanooga. That was the most snow I have seen sinse I left home and then it rained one day after that with the exception of those two storms we had firstrate wether for the journey. Sinse we have been here we have had awfull bad wether for it has rained nearly every day sinse we have been here It is right on the Chesapeak Bay and we have cold Easterly storms just the same as you have there at home. The Boys have about all got a cold since they have been here for there is a great differance in the climate between here and East Tennessee
In your letter you spoke about the Old Folks Concert on Fast night and wished that I had been there I should liked firstrate to have been there. That was the first I knew of Fast Day for I had not heard a word spoken about it before and had not seen any papers. I guess if you had or Father had not spoken of it I should not have thought anything about Fast this year for we heard nothing of it down in Tennesee and then at that time I was travelling and did not have much chance to hear of it but I am in hopes that by the next Fast I shall be in a civilized country where I shall hear of such things. I am glad that the Concert was so well attended and think that you could not put the money to a better use than buying a town clock for that is something that was always needed in Plymouth
I supose the 29th Boys are at home now enjoying themselves and I really hope they will enjoy their furloughs for they have got three more long years before them which I really hope they will live through and get home again with their friends but I am awfull afraid that they will not be as lucky in their next three years as they have been in their last three for the Old 29th have always been more than lucky in every Battle they have been in and I am afraid they will have to see some very hard Battles this next summer for there is going to be some hard fighting done. I hardly think that I shall see much more at anyrate I shant unless they move the 9th Corps within a month and I doubt very much wether they do for the troops are not all here yet
I saw by the paper that Wm G. Dunham was dead was that Drunken Bill and then I saw the death of Mrs Susan Johnston of East Bridgewater is that Sally Dunham it does not say she was of Plymouth but I did not know but it mind of been her
I dont think of anything more to write this time and will close by biding you good bye
Write again soon
Murrey
8578
DATABASE CONTENT
(8578) | DL1438.005 | 119 | Letters | 1864-04-17 |
Tags: Business, Death (Home Front), Fighting, Furloughs, Money, Nature, Newspapers, Weather
People - Records: 1
- (3211) [writer] ~ Atwood, John Murray
Places - Records: 1
- (486) [origination] ~ Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland
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SOURCES
John M. Atwood to Sister, 17 April 1864, DL1438.005, Nau Collection