Tiptonvill Tennessee April 19^th 1862

            Mrs M E Keller

 

                                                                                                            dear Malvina it

has been but a few days since I wrote to you but as I have at present plenty of leasure time I will adress you a few more liens hoping they may finde you all in the enjoyment of good healthe as for my own healthe it is good I got weighed on yesterday and I weighed one hundred and ninety two pounds five pound more than I ever weighed before in my life I expressed one hundred and sixty dollars to Peter Studabaker for you I presume you will get it before this reaches you if there is anything gets out of order about the Gates or pump get some one to fix them and pay them for it you say you are very sad and lonely and have got more to do than you can do donte troubale your selfe about what you have got to do what you cant do let go undone hire some one to cut down the weeds and let the garden go make but a little donte troubale your selfe / about sutch trifles I have aways always found plenty of troubale without borrowing any I ame going to furnish you plenty of Money and it is not necessary you shoulde do any thing but direct how things shoulde be done if I had known your situation woulde have been as it is I never woulde have left but I ame here and ame determined to stay as long as the war last I induced men to come here and how woulde it look to resigne and go home and leave them here what woulde the Mothers and fathers wives and daughters say to me it woulde be this you got them in to the war and left them like a coward never never my dear Malvina can that be saide of Sam Keller as I have saide before death before dishonor I hope the war will soon close if it does not I ame going to try to get a leave of absence / to go home about the last of June so as to stay at home for two or three weeks. it woulde be imposible to do so at this time as no man gets to go home unless he is sick or cripled or resignes his office I ame sorry you write sutch dolefull letters when a man here gets a letter from home he wants something to cheere him up for it is positively so that a greate maney men die with home sickness here the doctors tell me sutch is the case I have got several in my Company who I ame afraide will die from that cause they get down hearted and stupid and get very poore and lay around and talke but very little to any person but you can know by the way I pull down on the scales I have not got it yet one reason is this I know my family has got plenty at home and that I ame doing engaged / in the holy cause of putting down this hellish Rebelion and that I ame doing better here than if I was at home I ame geting one hundred and thirty dollars per monthe (write often and let me know what is going on in town your last was dated April the 6 I write foure letters to your one cheere up all will come around right before longe I cannot say how long we will stay at this place) I can set in my tent and see the steam Boats runing up and down the river this is a nice Camp we have got plenty of water as we use the River water the trees down here have leaved out the Birds are singing and all is beautifull except the infernal Musketoes they are equaly as bad as in Minnesota you know I ame an olde hande among them but they nearly eat up some of the Boys tell Mrs Aspinall Westly is well and hearty more so than I have ever seen him and is a good Boy. poor little Sam I hope he is well by this time I ame going to write to you evry few days while we stay here when you get that money write amediately yours most affectionately   Sam J Keller

 

in side you will finde a golde/dollar

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