Aprile 1^st 1862

 

Dear Sister

                        I wrote you in a great hurry once since the Kenion army came in here, and made a jack of myself by saying that “Jackson was captured” the story came with such an a so strait that we believed it here for a few hours. Benja returned from Balt on the 22^d and brought fathers trunk with him (George and Grandma came up also) the contents are very acceptable and you and Grandpa all have our sincere thanks. my bonnet is very becoming and the first new one in the town since the blockade is raised, I guess. I have not worn them yet for we have had very unpleasant weather lately and this battle at Winchester has kept us in a constant excitement, dead bodies passing through here, sent to there friends, and for two or three/ days we could not find out the truth of rumors “that John Nadenbuss and some others were killed” but we have since heard that he was provost at Mount Jackson at the time of the battle. One has to live in a war to know what war is, reading about it dont give you any idea of the excitement in which we live.

 

Thursday. I felt so badly the other night that I could not write I have something like dysentary at times all winter but don’t suffer any pain so have neglected myself but am going to attend to it now and cure myself up before the weather go to hot or the cholery will catch me. I fear we shall have it here this sumer (perhapps not for a good God reigns over us and I won’t met trouble half way) this town never was so dirty as it is now, and the armies have burnt up for fire wood the shop on the lower corner of Falkners lot oposite/ and the fence all the way around it also the old house next to Tom Hoopers property and fence, this we consider an improvement, where ever the fences were old and some good ones have been burnt and the houses that the soldiers have ocupied are so dirty that I would not superintend cleaning one if they would give it to me, but we have in no way been disturbed by either army all winter we stayed at home mostly or went to Sallie’s Benja had a certificate from the sergeon of the malitia that his health was to bad to serve but for all that he feared some times they would take him and was quite low spirited about it but I never felt so, I dont know why, but I new his health would not let him serve and it did not seem to me they would take him, and they did not Twas like a great weight taken off of us, when the federal army came in here, Doing without letters and news/ papers was our greatest privation, and we would send to perfect strangers that we new were union people, to get a paper that had been brought over by some union woman that had walked over to the river to see her husband or brother and those papers would be read by so many people that they would be so worn that we could not read where they were creased, and if it had not been for the kindness of Mr Cookas who lives at North Mountain depot we should not have herd from you at all, as it was our under ground post office was quite defective, but much better than some, persons that would bring them to us from Mr Cookas strangers to us would step in side the door ask us “if we new Mr Cookas” we would say “yes” they would then take the letters from some pocket hand them to us and say don’t mention my name in connection with them. we would tell him we “certainly would not” and if any person asked how they came we said by under ground rail post office, when I wanted to hear some news I would start out go to Mary Kellys or Millmir’s and if I sat a while some of Cambell girls would come in, Mary or Eliza and some of them would have seen a newspaper a Southern one if they had not a northern one, and we would talk the news over and have a good time we have no desire to live through another such winter, although we feel that we have more cause to be thankful that we got along so well, than that we have causes to/ to complain. we were nearly out of salt when the Federal army came in, but if they had not come we could have got some from Mr Conrod he had a good deal on hand and he gave it a way to the sick and poor of the town, there must have been a great many poor here that had to do without it. There is now over a hundred of the federal army here sick, the union ladies of the town do a good deal for them but a soldiers life is a hard one. Emily Philips has lost her baby it want was sick but three days, she idolized it so that I am afraid twill set her crazy twas just beginning to walk, and was 20 mo old. old Mr Showers is dead he left his property all to his wife her lifetime. This is almost the first pretty day we have had this spring, and John and Comfort have gone with their Pa to see Aunt Sally and her little pigs and calfes and lambs John said before he started, “why dont/ we never go to see aunt Fannie” he begins to feel since Grandpa has come home and talks so much to him about his cousens as if he should like to see them. he says he has a good conain Tucker to send him such a nice book Clinty took some hearty laughs over his book that Heman sent him and says I must send his thanks to him and Annie I cant tell you how glad we were to see the pictures of the children we feel almost as if we had seen you, with father to tell us all about you, and your faces to look at. we have had a good time talking about you since he came home had I made out a list of the things we needed most you could not have sent things more acceptable, we think Father looks well better than we ever saw him

 

Your letter came to hand to day dated 16^th March. there did not any stage run between here and the Ferry but from here to Hegerstown Father came to the Ferry and walked up here and Benja George and Grandma came up from Balt through Harrisburg Pen. to Hegerstown rode the whole day in the cars and they brought Fathers trunk.

 

Thanks to the Federal army the cars are now running by here every day and Comfort says they go “a billy darkin by here” I wish you could hear him hog it it sounds so comical. I have spun out quite a long letter and hope you wont get tired of reading it before you get through please send it to Joseph for I ment to have writen him on our birth day. My best love to you all not forgetting Henry and Chas family and Chester. Father has just come in and brought Henrys letter we are glad to hear Cher is safe home and I am glad to hear you are going to send the photographs father had not told us that

                                                                                                your affec sister Harriett

SOURCES