No. 71.                                                                                               

Camped near the river

July 29^th /64

 

Dear Mollie               

I received your letter of the 12 & 15^th to day, I was glad to hear that you was all well. our company came in this forenoon from the front & brought the mail. our regiment is guarding the train. I wrote in my last letter about it. Co. G & F went to the front with a train on the 21. on the 22 the rebs came in on our left flank & came near capturing our whole train. it was a very unexpected atact but our forces soon got their position & thare was bloody & desperate fighting for nearly two hours. the enemy was repulsed & beten back with great slaughter. our loss was heavy but the enemies was nearly three times as large. Lieut Rorick says he has heard of men being piled up but he never saw it before / he says they lay so thick that a man could step from one to the other for a long distance without steping on the ground. the rebel killed in front of our corps is estimated at 22 hundred the 15, 16 & 17 corps were ingaged. they are the army of the tennasee. day before yesterday they moved to the right & yesterday they had another hard fight. the rebels made three charges & were repulsed every time. they mast their forces & came up six deep. they were cut down like the grain before a siccle to rise no more. our corps drove them about one half mile when they were ordered to halt & stop for the night. I have not heard the loss of the yesterdays fight. the rebel loss on the 22 is estimated at 14 thousand. they came out with a flag of truce to bury their dead. Sherman gave them one hour & a half & they did not get them near all buried. / the wounded fell in to our hands we hold them as prisoners. we captured about five thousand prisoners & lost about the same. this has been the hardest fighting of the campain. general Hood commands the rebel army. he says if he cant whip us here, he cant at eny other place. well I dont no as I have much more news to write this time. you spoke in your letter about going east. I have answered you before but perhaps you had not got my letters when you wrote last. you must do as you think best about it. every thing is very high whare you are & it will cost you a great deal to live. as for the expences of going & coming I dont care much about it will not cost you agreadeal. our children are small & you will not take enything but your clothes so you will have no freight to pay. if your mother goes you had better go with her if you wanto. / I will send you money as soon as we get our pay. if we are not payed until the last of August I think we will get six months pay if we do I will send you 60. or 70. dollars & then I want you should go deasand or not atall. well I will not write eny more to day the mail went out soon after I commensed my letter & thare is no telling how long it will be before it will go out again. I am well & harty & may this find you all the same. I have not seen Dow yet, so I cannot tell you how he is. From yours as ever

O Shibly

To Mollie C Shibly

 

the direction on your letter is corect                                     

 

July 30^th. I got a letter from Dow this morning. he is at the hospital at Rome, he said he had writen home, so thare is no use of writing about it. tell Mother I got a letter from Criss Shibly day before yesterday he is well he is in the 92 Ills mounted Inft. Co. B third Division third Brigade

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