Memphis Tennesee

                                                                                                                        Dec 7^th 1862

 

Dear Miriam

                        I received your long looked for letter aday or two ago and hasten to answer it. this being Sunday I agree to your proposition of writing every Sunday I am now in the hospital acting as nurse I have been in for about fifteen days I get twenty five 5 cents pr day extra for my services the way I have to do is to watch and give medicine from one until seven in the evening and then I come on at one oclock at night and serve six hours more. There are about thirty eight or forty men in the hospital I suppose there are about twenty two that are confined to cot the others are convalescants I had to quit writing this letter to perform averry dirty / duty there is one man in our ward that is verry bad off with the typhoid fever he had shit on himself all over his shirt pants and drawers I with the assistance of one of the other nurses had to clean him off and put clean clothes on him. he is abig stout fellow and has been out of his mind most of the time since he has been here sometimes he trys to get out of bed and go out of doors I then have to take him by force and put him back on his cot. I had about given out hearing from you this is the fifth letter that I have written since I left home I was about writing to Ewel to find out if possible the reason why my letters were not answered the reason you give is satisfactory that you did not get them I like this place verry well it is verry pleasant weather here we have had alittle snow not over an inch deep we have some cold / nights. I do not like the way that things are worked here we are here guarding secession property There was anegro died out in the gully near the hospital with the small pox he was driven away and died in the gully and was left there and this morning the hogs were eating him up. You know that I am no negro worshiper yet I believe that anegro should be buried after death there are hundreds of them in this place some of them have been pressed into the service of the government I received the letter that Caroline Gulick wrote you I cannot agree with her in her sentiment, concerning the justness of our cause let it pass I have no doubt but she is loyal but has her own peculiar views. let it go and answer her letter respectfully I want you to see about that Barr colt dont let it die if there is any possible chance to save it if you cannot do any better get some one to winter it / George is said to about thirty miles from here I would like to go and see him but cannot on account of the Guerrilas they are around Memphis watching to keep cotton from coming into Memphis and if I should undertake to go I would be verry apt to be taken prisoner. There are great rumors floating about here every day it was reported that Vicksburg had been evacuated and that the rebels had stacked arms and surrendered there is no truth in that as there was aboat with about two hundred secession prisoners on board went down to Vicksburg to exchange prisoners there was about thirty of our company went I would have gone if I had known about it in time. I had my temper tried alittle too strong this morning by old preacher Goodin Hagan. I asked him if he was going to take the coal that had been burned out of our ward soon he says that is nothing to you that is my / business we were at the breakfast table eating it made me mad and I told him if he spoke to me in that manner again I would knock him down he said that if I did he would have me put in prison I told him I did not care if he did after breakfast he called me out of the ward to talk to me and too make it all right I told him treat me respectfully and I would him he is arattle brained old fool talking all the time when he has no business to say aword he says that anegro is as good as awhite person he passes around here shaking hands with the negroes and talking to them and has them to call around to go to church with him I dont like such men at all I see Tip Harris the other day he belongs to Georges company I did not have time to talk to him any our company are now on guard at the prison / when they will get away from there I do not know to day is warm and pleasant we are verry near the river and can see the Lincoln gun boats laying there on the water like black monsters I have not yet been to the navy yard or to the arsenal when I go I will give you adescription of things there The fort is situated near the banks of the river and there are a lot of verry large cannon mounted on the breast works so as to command the river In Memphis Court Yard there is alarge marble monument erected to old Gen Jackson it has an imitation of his chest arms and head on it surrounded by iron railing and all kinds of shrubbery and flowers are planted there there are some of the trees of the forest left there and there are a lot of gray squirrels climbing around in there they are so tame that they will come / up to aperson and take any thing out of apersons hand and run up the tree and eat it it is ten dollars fine for any person to interfere with the shrubbery and five dollars fine to any one that lets their dog in the yard The whole yard is fenced in to with anice iron fence I wish you would get Ewel to settle with Al Hines and see how much I owe him and let me know as soon as we are paid off I will send you the money that I get by express and tell you what to do with it. I want you when you get money from me to get what things you and Eddy needs I want you to have your daugerrotype taken with Eddys and send to me you say that you want me to get adischarge I think it would be nearly if not quite impossible if I do not come home and we stay here this winter I will send you money and then I would like for you to come and see me it would / cost about ten dollars for you to come here if there is any chance I will get afurlough and come home sometime in febuary or march I would like for you to send me some postage stamps if you can get them. Write to me and let me know how Eddy and Ma are getting along I would like to see Eddy now and you and all the rest of my friends in old bond I believe that I will see them all again soon as I believe this war will be over in less than six months Write as soon as you get this write me agood long letter and if I get to writing one thing more than once tell me

 

                        Nothing more but remains

            your affectionate husband until

            death               Henry B. Drake

                        Miriam E Drake

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