Ocean Springs Miss

August 18^th 1864

 

My Darling Brother

                        On my return home yesterday from Handsboro I found five letters awaiting my perusal four of which were from my darling Bros & as I had found two at H when we got back from Mobile I am so fearfully in debt that it will keep me buisy for some time to collect matter wherewith to pay you. I like the idea. keep me thus in your debt & neither will ever have cause to regret it. That you have not received letters from Jennie or myself is the fault of the mail not because we have not written I write twice a week regularly & I at least once. I wrote thrice while in M & Jennie also. I do not intend to give / you a long letter to read from Sis this time for I have several other letters to write this morning but I know that you will not complain when you see that in lieu of one of my late lengthy epistles I send you two letters from Our Father. I know you will exclaim with me thank God we know something of him at last. Oh! Brother I feel that I am very sinfull & yet God has deigned to hear & answer all my prayers for the safety of my dearly beloved ones But I will try to deserve his love & with his divine help I hope ere long to be an humble servant & follower of Our dear Lord. we have suffered much & the dark clouds of despair have more than once lowered oer my heart but thank God I see the light at last I am sermonising & will stop here. Our prospects are still threatning but much better than when I last wrote I am sorry now that I wrote as I did of / home it only distressed you for no good do not think that we do not value your sympathy because I say that I am sorry for haveing written of our troubles but I think it is a sacred duty devolving in the women of the South to wait cheerfully & encouraging to their soldiers to keep family troubles at home & write nothing that will give our dear soldiers more cause for anxiety than they have within themselves. I know that I sometimes forget this duty but are not my letters cheering in their tone? Jennie has told you I suppose that we came home alone! as the details of our trials would consume more time & paper than I have appropriated to you this time I will only say that we surmounted all difficulties quite womanfully & in a maner worthy of your Wife & Sister. Tell Maj P— that I am sorry that he was so careless of his arm as to expose it to the / tender mercy of a Yankees riffle. did he not know that he would get it hurt. I would gladly exchange arms with him if by so doing more of the dastardly Yanks could be made to bite the dust. Have you found the body of our dear lamented friend yet? You say Lieut Jeter was your only friend I hope not true he was one of Gods noblest works & although I loved him almost with the same affection that I feel for you & mourn him as a dear lost Brother, yet I would have you think others are as truely your friends I must close although I could write to you all day & the half of what I would like to say would remain untold. Good by kiss me & go read Papa's letters while I write to Willie. Mama says write to Uncle Wash about Papa

 

God bless you Write often to

Your Affectionate little

Sis

SOURCES