Franklin May 24th 1862

 

            I have just received dear wife your letter written to be sent by Sergeant Ruckman. I regret that he did not call as much as you, as your box of eatables would have been very welcome. Our fare has been very hard lately and anything coming from home would have been received with a double relish. You cannot tell dear wife how much I feel for you, & how sad I feel at times in thinking over your troubles at this particular time. I have answered all your questions in regard to Cooper, the miserable fellow, & your trip to Louisville. You no doubt have received my letters upon those points ere this, so that I need not again write you about it. The whole of the business matters you have managed dear wife most admirably and I shall hereafter make you my financier as you manage better than I do / So take credit to yourself dear wife, and thusly comfort, for it is a comfort to feel that we have well done any duty. In regard to the lot at the cemetery I wish you to have an estimate made of the expense of both draining and grading, and if it should prove too heavy then we will choose some other location, and remove our dear boy there. Act in this dear wife as you have acted in all the other things and I shall be more than satisfied. In regard to yourself I feel very uneasy. You complain of great pain in the back, and I must caution you dear wife to remember that your confinement commenced with a pain in the back and you will find that whenever you over exert yourself a pain in the back will be the immediate result. When you feel this pain more severe than usual you should immediately lie down and remain perfectly quiet until / you feel relieved. Pray dear wife do be careful, and remember that upon you depends my happiness. How can you even think, much less write to me that you are afraid I do not love you as much as you do me. I thought I had long since given you ample proof of this, and that it would not be necessary for me to convince you over again. Ah dear wife your affection may be and I know it is very great for you have given me most convincing proofs of it, but I cannot yield to you in this. Do not think that because I am here I do not desire to be with you. If you could only know the longing for home that comes over me at times you would try to comfort instead making me feel badly by such thoughts. You must know how very dear you are to me, and that without you everything would indeed be a blank. Cease then dear wife to trouble yourself / with such thoughts and trust implicitly in my love. I will never fail you. I have just received an order to be prepared to march tomorrow morning at six oclock but in what direction we go I am not informed. Our whole brigade marches and how many more troops I do not know. I have forgotten whether I wrote you of the change which has been made by Gen^l Fremont. The 75^th, 73^rd and 32^nd Ohio have been transferred from Gen^l Milroy to Gen^l Schenck so that we are now under Gen^l Schenck. This change has given the regiment great satisfaction, as Schenck is liked much better as a commander than Milroy. Although the direction of our march is not known, we surmise that we are to march back on the road to New Creek to protect our provision trains, which rumor says are threatened by a small force of the enemy. 

 

This letter will I think be handed you by Capt Harris who was wounded at our late battle. I have made him promise to go to our house and stay all night, so that you can have a good opportunity of having a complete history from an intelligent actor in the scene. Capt Harris is one of my most intelligent and best officers, and behaved with great gallantry in the battle, so I wish you to make much of him. I will write besides this a short note of introduction for him.

And now I have a commission for you to execute for me. I wish you to go to Dodd and purchase for me a hat which must be regulation in all respects but two. The regular hat is peaked and heavy. My hat is wish to be made very light & soft with an oval crown. Let it be low, and trimmed according to the regulation. My cap is worn out and is entirely unsuited to the summer. My / face burns and the skin comes off almost every march and is besides very tender from exposure so that I must have a hat. Dodd made a hat for Major Riley and sent it to him, and I want you to say to him that I do not want such a hat as that. It is entirely too heavy and the crown is flat not oval. I want a crown like your country hat had, and as light a hat as can be made. I also wish you to go to Sprague and order me a regulation coat and pantaloons (light blue the latter). I wish a coat for summer wear and it must be light as possible. The coat he made me is entirely too large in every respect. It is exactly right as to length of waist, but it is entirely too round both at the breast and waist. The sleeves also are too large. Tell him to remedy those defects and make me a nice uniform as I shall need it by the time it comes. My fatigue suit is worn out & too heavy and my other suit will go up rapidly now that I am forced to wear it. If Harris does not come back soon enough to bring them

 

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they will have to be sent to me by express. After our movement tomorrow I will write you giving how and where to send the clothes. Love to Lindy and all the children and loving good night kisses to darling wife—

N. C. M^cLean

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