Camped near vixburg

 

Sunday, Feb the 8/63

 

Dear Mollie, I was geting ready to write to you this morning when I received a letter & paper from you. you can imagin a soldiers in a measure a soldiers feeling when he receives a letter from home. I am glad to hear that you are all well. I am glad to say that I am well & harty, which is more than a great many of our boys can say. Mr Landon is sick with the tifoid fever. he has been four days, he thinks he is some beter this morning. I hope he will get along soon, for he is a fine man. Vrooman is geting harty I think he will come out all right. there are a great many soldiers dying every day this is a hard time on soldiers. I think we will go up the river before long. we will halfto go some place soon, if the river keeps raising, or we will be drownded out.

 

now I must tell you something about Capt Austin, he left us yesterday / without our knowing eny thing about it. he told the boys that he would stay a week or ten days if there was eny prospect of our geting our pay, but insted of doing so, he went off without saying one word, not as much as goodby. he has not done the fair thing by the boys they are very much dissatisfied with him they say they may live to get home & then they can say what they please.

 

you said you had writen to mother. I am glad you have. you spoke of going to Illinois I would like to have you go & stay as long as you wanto. I have thought, if I lived to get out of this war I would go and see mother, before I went home. it wont cost eny more than it will to go home. there isent much prospect of our geting home next spring if we do I will be disapointed, may it be so. you spoke of atending a donation. I hope you have enjoyed your selves in so doing I think I could enjoy one if I had the chance to, in Iowa. I think a soldier will know how to apreciate a home when he gets back more / than he ever did before. you spoke about tobaco its very high for Iowa. I bot a plug the other day for forty cts, the same as I bot at the station for 15 cts last summer Landon, Vrooman & myself bot $5.00 worth of buter & chease yesterday & we got 2 & ½ lbs of butter & the same in chease, the butter was only 50 cts a pound the chease 30, perhaps you think that is deer eating, but we dont. it is the first I have had since we left helena & you beter blieve I have feasted it has done me more than a dollars worth of good already. I have not heard from Dow since he left arcansis post. I think he went to St Louis. he said he would write to me as soon as he could, but he has not writen yet. I wrote to you how he was wonded. I supose you have got that letter before this so I wont write it again. I have not heard from Joseph Furgerson for two or three days so I cant say how he is John Furgerson is as well as common, but his son is sick in the hospital & the old man is taking care of him & Joseph. I am siting up with / Mr Landon this evening so I thought I would write a fiew lines to pass off time he isent so well this evening. I am afraid he will have a hard pull of it, for a soldier stands a poor chance to get well here. I was told this evening that they talked of stoping the mail from going back & fourth on acount of its making so much talk in the north. if they do that I think there will be more talk than there is now I think it would be the worst thing that could be done for this goverment. this is only a camp talk in my opinion. well it is 9 oclock & the boys have gone to bed, so I think I will not write eny more until morning, so good night & pleasent dreams,

 

Monday morning

Feb the 9-/63

I will finish my letter saying that Mr Landon is no better

                                                           

I am well, may this find you all well   write soon

                                   

from Oliver

To Mollie

good bye

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