Oliver W. Shibley to Mary C. Shibley, 6 October 1863
No. 29.
October the 6, /63
Camped near Corinth Miss.
 
Dear Mollie
I received your letter yesterday of Sept the 13 & was glad to get it. I got one from your Mother also. I will send it to you so you can read it for your self. we are camped about four miles from Corinth. we had an order last night to turn over all our tents excepting one to every four men & all extry camp utensels. I dont no what it means unless we go in to quarters or on a long march. some say we are going a hundred miles east on the Chatanuga railroad. I was in hopes we would stay here this winter & have some rest, but our division commander is a hard custimer, he is all for fight he had a chance to stay at Memphis, but he would not. he wanted to go to / Corinth & now he wants to go further the most of the officers are down on him & say their men can do as they please about going. the 16 army corps has been here for more than a year & I think we ought to take their place & we would if old Osterhouse had said so. I am sory that he is our commander we would rather have Steel, but I can stand it if the rest can. the weather is colder here than it was at Vixburg we had quite a frost night before last & I slept cold. my bedfelow is not a very good one. his legs are to long & he takes up to much room. Landon & Vrooman are well & harty Will Ferguson is sick & has been since we left Memphis John Grayham is not well & two or three of the others Birt Smith has been sick but is beter now. our company is geting very small, we have only 20 men here all told & it is about the same all through the regiment. one year / ago we could come out with over eight hundred & now with about one hundred. one year more & I think the 31 will be used up, if we have as much to do as we have had this year. I supose you have seen capt Evans before this time & Jo Blakeslee. he said he would go & see you. I sent 5 dollars with him for you. we dont hear enything more about furlows I think they are played out unless we stay here. if we dont thare will be no chance for going home. we left 8 of our boys at memphis sick thare is no telling when they will come to the company Some of them will never come for I think they will get their discharge. I havent heard from Dow since I left Memphis I will write to him in a day or two. he said he would write to you. if you write to him direct your letters to Memphis & he will get them. we had a mail this afternoon it was but a small one / thare was only 4 letters but I looked for one Landon brought the last you wrote & I thought it was about time I had another, but it seams not so I am content without. a man to be a good soldier must make up his mind to endure everything & take it cool & easy. if he dont he cant live in the service.
 
wednesday the 7 I thought I would write a litle this morning. the mail went out yesterday & I think it will go out again to morow, so I will try & have my letter finished. well Mary I must tell you some news Dave Borick has got a commition for first Lieut. & it is all Evanses falt, for he recommended him & the boys are down on him. they hope he will never come back & then they will have Landon for captain. he is a mean litle puss & as diseeitful as the devel. no more this time write often this from your ever loving husband
O Shibly            Mollie C Shibly
 
I am well & harty & hope this will find you all the same tell John & Josa I would like to have them write to me, if they will.
9474
DATABASE CONTENT
(9474)DL1594.062150Letters1863-10-06

Tags: Camp/Lodging, Discharge/Mustering Out, Furloughs, Illnesses, Mail, Marching, Railroads

People - Records: 2

  • (3481) [writer] ~ Shibley, Oliver W.
  • (3482) [recipient] ~ Shibley, Mary C. ~ Coryell, Mary C.

Places - Records: 1

  • (38) [origination] ~ Corinth, Alcorn County, Mississippi

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SOURCES

Oliver W. Shibley to Mary C. Shibley, 6 October 1863, DL1594.062, Nau Collection