Memphis Tennessee

December the 31^st 1863

 

Dear Beloved Wife

with the greatest of pleasure and mutch respect it is that I can once more enjoy the preasant oportunity of righting you a fiew lines to let you no that I am well But O^h I wish I was at home with you today for I am very uneasey about you This is a very cold stormey day hear and it is snowing very hard and the snow blowes in to our tent so mutch that I shall have to quit righting untill it quits snowing for my paper is getting all wet 

 

Well Cordelia I comenced this letter day before yesterday and yesterday I had to go out on picket and I could not get it finished until this morning Well you stated in your letter that I need not be uneasey about you but I cant help but be uneasey for it is so cold that I am afrade you will awl most freeze I have ben on picket every other day and night since Christmas and the weather has bin very cold and bad some of the boys froze their ears and fingers yesterday on picket Well Cordelia I got that hart that you sent me but it was broke in three peaces it spited me very mutch to think that it got broke I wish I had some thing to send you and / the little girls for a new years gift but I have not got aney thing now Well I must tell you about the fight that some of the 89 had on last sunday with the rebels there was 200 of our Regt and 200 hundred of the 117 Ilinois started on chrismas evening to Mosco about twenty miles from hear and on sunday evening there was about to thousand of the rebels fierd into the cars and our boys jumped out of the cars and began to fier into them and they fierd severl rounds when the rebs began to retreat and our boys after them and they had to waid water to their waists they folowed them until after dark and kept / pecking it to them but they got away as fast as they could there was a great maney of the rebs killed and wounded but we onley lost to killed and one wounded and they was out of the 117 there was not a man out of our Regiment hurt they followed them to days and chaised them acrost Coldwater into Mississippi and then came back there was to thousand of the rebels and onley four hundred of our men well I must quit for I am so sleepy that I cant hardley keep my eyes open I have not had aney sleep for one week so no more at preasant But I remain your Beloved Companion Hugh Bay to

Cordelia A Bay & children     right soon

SOURCES