Memphis Tennesee

                                                                                                            December 15^th 1862

 

Dear Miriam

                        Here it is sunday again and I seat myself to write you afew lines according to promise I am staying in the hospital yet I am verry well satisfied so far as I have a verry good prospect of getting to be ward Master that is to over see the nurses and see that the wards are kept clean and to take care of the hospital stores kitchen furniture &c I am not yet positive that I shall get it D. Harnidy is ward master now he expects soon to be promoted to assistant surgeon and says that he will do all in his power to get me in It pays twenty dollars and fifty cents pr month and there is no work to do after / night. There has been two deaths in the hospital within the last week one man named Terry he belonged in our ward his disease was consumption the other belonged to ward B his name was White what his disease was I do not know. You ought to see the differance in the parade in burying aprivate and acaptain or any other high officer the senior Captain of one of the regiments died here he was taken to aprivate house and cared for instead of being put in the hospital and buried in one of the finest coffins that I ever saw it was ametal case and cost ahundred or ahundred and fifty dollars the procession was formed of several companies marching with arms reversed that is with their guns under their arms the muzzle pointed behind and then they had one of the most splendid bands that I ever saw playing mournful music / the way they bury privates is if their is two bodies put one on top of the other in awagon and have about adozen men march behind with their arms reversed I hate to see the distinction that is made among men because their fellow men have put them in office I wrote you in my last letter that likely I should be at home in febuary or march but I have no hopes of seeing you so soon unless you come to see me Col Niles says that all the furloughs that the soldiers will get are two by six feet there will be three or four men from our company sent back to bond County after those deserters Sam Ingles Wm Ray Thos McCloud and Julius Dumute & Barry Olmstead I am trying to get to go back after them but think my prospect is rather slim your Father says he will intercede for me but likely as not he will never think of it again dont let it be / known that those deserters are going to be sent after or they will run away so that they cannot be caught Tell Tom Savage to come as soon as he can if he wants adischarge as they are going to discharge all that they think will not be able to stand the service in afew days We are going to stay here all winter as the citizens of this place have petitioned for us to stay and protect their property we will act as provost guards our whole regiment. The sixth and eighth Missouri regiments are here they are perfect desperadoes they are men that have been driven from their homes by the rebels and their property destroyed they are burning houses whenever they get achance and tearing up groceries they are death on secessionist I wish them success Write soon kiss Eddy for me and rember me to Ma and all the rest Nothing more your affectionate husband until death H. B. Drake

 

M. E. Drake

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