Memphis Tennesee January 12^th 1863

 

            Dear Miriam

                                    I received your kind letter of the fourth to day and was glad to hear from you once more and that you were all well I had been looking verry anxiously for aletter for aday or two when I got this one it cheers me up and puts new life in me to get aletter from home I also got that precious little lock of Eddys hair amore acceptable gift could not have been presented to me if I should be permitted through the tender mercy of Almighty God to return home again I shall bring that lock of hair back again I have been waiting verry impatiently for those daugerrotypes but will try and be patient until you can send them I shall send mine as soon as I can get my pay which is some thing that we have not the least idea about we are getting verry impatient about our pay but we will have to grin and bear it. It was reported that Col Niles said that if we were not paid off by the middle of last week he was going to take us all back to Camp Butler I have heard nothing of it for afew days I guess that has played out You speak of getting low spirited try and keep your spirits up and put your trust in the Lord and / I think like you that things will work out to our advantage at last I do sincerely believe that I shall live until this war is settled or get adischarge and come home again never to leave it again as long as we are permitted to live on earth I am determined that if I should get home again not to let my patriotism run away with my better judgment again. We are highly favored by providence in the pleasantness of the winter it is more like september here than January it is warm and pleasant bright sunshine most of the time we are in agood house and have plenty to eat and are highly favored to be in the army I am in the best of spirits and would be as happy as could be expected if I only had you and Eddy and Ma with me you know how I am when I get sick I am allways low spirited then all goes well with me now. There was aboat burned this morning by the Guerrillas this morning in sight of Memphis. they went on board the boat and took acouple of gold watches and all the money the officers had and made them get their breakfast after they got their breakfast they set the boat on fire and burned it up there was aboat burned about fifteen miles up the river from here about aweek ago there is no doubt but that there are traitors engaged in the service of the United States. There is areport that the / town opposite Memphis on the other side of the river is going to be shelled and burned today or tomorrow the Guerrillas often are seen on that side of the river there will be no fight if we do undertake it as it will all be done by the gun boats that lay in the river I wish they would burn it but doubt verry much about it being done. They are coming down on the secessionists pretty heavy here there is arail road now in operation now in our service that has been torn up and not in use for some time the order is now that road shall be used for the benefit of the federal government and if it is torn up or interrupted by the Guerrillas that ten families of the richest and most influential of the rebel sympathisers shall be banished from Memphis and sent south and ten families for every interruption of the road shall be served in the same way. no person is now allowed to leave Memphis without apermit from the provost marshall man or woman no negroes are allowed to go north at all unless they go as servants to the officers and verry few go that way. I would like for you to see the amount of cotton that is laying on the warf and stacked near the river there are thousands of bales shipping north all the time There are some most princely dwellings here the yards are fixed off to suit the most fastidious tastes. I verry often meet with acquaintences here Thomas Stewart is here he is general baggage master he is now absent on fur / lough or leave of absence. Brainard Stewart and Steve Stuart are here I have seen both of them and to day I met William Fands that fellow that is part indian that used to stay at Andy Ingles. I am now at my quarters I left the hospital when I was taken sick and have not nursed any since I do not care about it particularly as it is not healthy business but I will go once in awhile and stay to pay necessary expenses I am of the same opinion of you now about buying awatch I think it would be more profitable to send my money home and so I shall not buy it. Tell Ewel and all the rest of them that profess to be my friends to write to me. About your coming to see me if I should get verry sick dont talk about begging your way to see me I would rather die alone than to have you to ask afavor or beg keep up your old independence and self esteem. What do you think about the niggers being set free we hear agreat many reports here we have heard that Illinois had refused to bear anymore expense of the war and was going to call her troops home of course we do not believe any such thing we have too good an opinion of the sucker state for that You must post me in all matters of importance in your letters. I should like to see Eddy feeding the hogs and carrying in wood dont let him work too hard God bless him When I set down I thought I could not write ahalf page as I wrote you along letter yesterday. Write soon your affectionate

Husband until death H. B. Drake       M. E. Drake

 

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I do not have any trouble with anyone now at all

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