Tell Grandpa that I heard

Elisabeth was married ask

him if it is so. I suppose

Arty feels as big as a king

with his new boots on Is it

true that you have to pay

double postage on a letter

that I send you without

prepaying the postage

 

                                                                                                Chattanooga Tennessee

                                                                                                            Nov 3^d 1863

 

Dear Sister

                        Your ever welcome letter I received last night it was dated Oct 12^th almost a month coming here; bad roads from here to Stevenson is the reason we do not get letters sooner it takes a train bet two and sometimes three weeks to go and return but I trust we will have better communication in a few days the railroad bridge at Bridgeport is completed and the Pioneers are hard at work on the bridge across Falling Water the report is that the cars will be here in eight days the boats have commenced running but they are troubled considerable by bushwhackers and the rebel battery on top of Lookout can be brought / to bear on them Fighting Joe will have to drive the rebels off Lookout before the boats or cars can run in safety. I do not know whether it would be safe to send me a box at the present time or not if our railroad was opened there would be no danger which I think will be done before this reaches you it would be better not to send my shirts and boots for a few weeks unless some person is comeing down here. I am in good health and have been all fall there is considerable sickness in the regt. colds dysentery & dierrhea are the principal diseases. I do not take cold as easy now as when I was at home. I have only had one severe cold since I enlisted how careful I was at home when I got my clothes wet to go and change them now I am not so particular on the march from Murfreesboro to Cowan for three or four days and nights my clothes were / wet all the time and it did me no harm the same thing at home perhaps would have given me my death of cold The duty is very severe on the boys since we occupied Chattanooga they have to go on picket every other day and do fatigue and police duty besides the corporals have it a great deal easier I do not have to go on duty more than once a week. The rebels have been very active in our front for some time past and on Nov. 1^st they commenced throwing up breastworks close to there picket line. Gen Sherridan ordered them to stop or he would fire on them they did not work any more that day but yesterday morning they commenced again and Sherridan ordered Millers Battery to shell them; they threw a few shell at them when the rebels stopped working and retreated into the woods at noon they came back again and again they were driven into the / woods last night they expected an attack we were under arms about an hour but no rebels came and we were marched back to our quarters. A detail from our division of three or four hundred men worked all last night throwing up a fort to command the one the rebs were building. I guess the rebs were astonished when they saw a fort this morning where there was only a orchard the day before. Sherridan is a good Gen. & the rebels will have to get up early when they get the start of him. The rebels are determined that we will not keep a pontoon bridge across the river very long at one time they make rafts of heavy timber and send them down the stream in that way they have carried away our bridge several times they will have to be driven away from the river above here or we will be unable to keep a bridge across the river. the rebels are sharp and do every thing in there power to annoy us. My paper is being used up I will have to close hoping this will find you all well I remain

 

                                                                                                            Yours until Death

                                                                                                                        William

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