Memphis Tennesee

                                                                                                            November 24^th 1862

 

            Dear Miriam I now seat myself with pleasure to drop you a few lines I am well and hearty I dont believe I ever enjoyed better health in my life I am getting as fat as a hog and am in verry good spirits. There is nothing of importance transpiring in camp now it is the same old thing overand over we do not drill any now why we do not is more than I know we have not drilled any in the manual of arms we go out every few days and practice shooting to day is sunday and there is to be agrand inspection of arms I cannot go out as I am detailed for nurse at the hospital I am very well satisfied at that as I get the best there is / to eat in camp and sleep in a good warm room and if I stay here over ten days I get twenty five cents pr day extra which makes twenty dollars and fifty cents pr month I shall stay here if they are satisfied with me. The way we nurse is this there is two nurses to award that is one room one sits up until twelve oclock at night and then the other nurse comes on and each one nurses six hours through the day. There is about 10 or twelve men sick in our ward all of the boys that belong to our company are not in this ward. There is about six in the hospital that belongs to our company there is none of the dangerously ill except Henry Davis he has got the mumps and has caught cold he is pretty sick I think he will get along without much trouble the / hospital is afemale seminary about two miles and ahalf from Memphis it avery fine building and larger than the one at Greenville it is divided of into two or three buildings. This is a lovely country there are some of the finest country residences around here that I ever saw the most of the owners of the plantations are slave holders and secessionists. I dont believe there is as much destitution and poverty in the southern states as the papers report there is. The inhabitants here appear to live comfortably and have plenty of provisions and some of them are verry impudent There is ayoung widow here that owns slaves that appears to be all right she says that she would rather keep her slaves but if the government can do better by them than she can she is satisfied. I suppose that she is in for union as most young / widows are. We left some of our sick at Cairo we hear that they are getting along well. Williamson McCaslin is in the City of Memphis he is not getting along very well. the weather is verry pleasant here now warm days and cool nights it is rather too cool at night sometimes to be comfortable. It looks more like fall of the year than winter there has been some frost and the leaves are falling there are agreat many pine and cedar trees here they look as fresh and green as they do in the spring Boots shoes and clothing tobacco and such things are very high here I suppose that agood pair of boots could not be got for less than twelve or fifteen dollars. I heard today that we would be paid off tomorrow I dont think there is much prospect / of that or I should have watched until tomorrow and sent you some money I think we will be paid off soon and then I shall send you some money your Father was not well for afew days he had atouch of the yellow jaundice he is all right now I believe. When you answer this letter dont forget to tell me how things are going at the farm whether Bates and his soninlaw have commenced to repair the fence any and if Joel Elam has commenced to cut timber upon that eighty by Adams mill if he does it is all right as I will make more money by selling the lumber at forty cents pr hundred feet than to be at the trouble and expense of having the trees cut and then hauled out. Tell me what has be / come of the hogs I want them taken care of as I believe that pork will be averry high price. Tell me how Thom Savage and Fred Garrett are getting along. While I am staying in the hospital I am clear of guard standing and all other camp duties tell me if you would rather I should stay in the hospital or not We have the best sweet potatoes here that I ever saw they are white outside and arich yellow when cooked inside I am going to send some of them home for seed if I have a chance. I wish you would get some one to get those two shoats away from Ad Smiths they do not raise any irish potatoes here of any account they are generally worth five dollars a barrel Tell Paddy to write to me / and Ewel and Tapply and all the rest of my friends I saw Lycirgus Black and Charley Tripod at St Louis and Simeon Perry and old Bobby Stewart at Cairo I was expecting to go and see George soon but I guess I will not go as it will cost too much I think that we will all be home in three or four months as I believe that there will be acompromise made between now and the first of April. There is more kinky heads here than you could shake astick at in three months I would like for you to send me some postage stamps as this one that I put on this letter is the last one that I have got. Tell Ma that I have not forgotten her that I hope that she may be in good health when this reaches you that I expect to be / home with you all in ashort time We expect to be placed under General Sherman. Remember and tell me all about Eddy when you write I think of him every day I would like verry much to see him I believe that I will have to wind up as I have written about all that I know Write as soon as you get this Nothing more but remains your affectionate

husband until death

 

P. S. There is another new regiment just come in they are the twenty seventh Iowa

 

                                                                                    H. B. Drake

                                                                        Miriam. E. Drake

SOURCES