Helena Arkansas Nov 16^th 1862

 

Dear Malvina

                        The mail has come down to day but no letters for me I Received nothing but a Banner I was ordered out on Picket guard yesterday afternoon and have just arived in Camp again this Eavning whitch is Sunday we Stood Picket in the woods I posted the Boys out and set up untill midnight when I pulled off some brush so as to keepe me off the ground and then Spread down my Blanket and laid down on one halfe and covered my Selfe with the other halfe and took a good long Study about my dear wife and little ones at Home my dear you may readaly imagin how comfortable it is to lay on brush on a cool night without fire as we dare not have Fire on Sutch ocasions after night if we did probaly the Rebels would slip up and Shoot us by the light of the Fire I Supose Some people thinks Soldiering is a nice easy buisness but let them try as we have done and they will Soon give up that Idea. if the war was over I would rather be at Home and chop cord wood at halfe price So as to Suport my Family Rather than be in the Army, but the war is not over and I ame going to hang to it as long as it lasts, even if I felt so disposed as not to Stay I could not at present helpe my Selfe. you saide in one of your letters I must come my dear Say for instance I could come without digsgraceing my selfe what do you Supose Mothers would Say to me who had sent sons under me and also wives who have husbands in my Company it woulde be this you coaxed them to go and know have run off and left them. in Decator they wer going to tar & feather a lieutenant / who was promoted to Captain and then Resigned and went Home last spring from our Regiment. a Sick officer can go Home and not be disgraced, but my dear one cheer up this wicked war or Rebellion cannot last always and Remember there is thousands of women in your condition and a great maney in a worse condition at the least calculation two hundred thousand men have died and been killed in the Army since this war Oh how horrible to think of the widows and orphans this cruel war has made

 

Sunday night about 9 oclock Nov 16^th 1862

                                                                                                                        I have been

reading since darke untill it is about bed time I unlocked my Trunk to put away some papers and my Eye falling upon that case containing them Likenesses I took them out and looked at them Poor little Willies how natural it looks, little did I think a few weeks ago that I woulde so soon get the news that my deare little Boy woulde be under the colde sod it some times appears to me as if it could not be possible that I must be dreaming. Oh if I coulde but have seen him once more after being absent so long from him, but that never can be on this Earth

 

here is the likeness of my other deare little Samuel may god bless him and protect him from the ills of this life untill I can once more see him again here to is my deare little Ella how I long to take her in my arms and heare her Say Papa as she used to do dear little girl I expect she has almost forgotten her Pa. here also is the likeness of her who is the mother of my deare little ons her whom I love more than all others on this Earth her who is dearrer to me than life here to is my little Blackeyd Caty who does not Remember she has a Father. I must close and go to Bed it is at this time raing very severe it makes me feel lonesom to heare the drops pating on the Roof of my little cabin

 

I know there is one who thinks about me to night, so good by deare one for to night /

 

Monday Nov 17^th 1862

there has been quite a stir in camp yesterday and to day among the Soldiers part of them are geting aboard of Boats and are going down the River to what point they are going we do not at present know but one thing we do know the are going to have a fight or a boat Race with the Rebels our Regiment with several other Regiments stay here for the purpose of holding this place they the Rebels are hovering around our camp all the time watching our movments very close but we watch them about as close as they do us. our Pickets have a fight with them almost evry day very frequently some of our men get killed or taken prisoner by them and our men generly Ruturn the compliment but the enemy have one great advantage over us and that is they are well acquainted with the country while we are not they know evry path Hill and hollow while we are Strangers in the country

 

the present indications are that the goverment is going to pursue a vigorous campaign towards the enemy I do hope sutch will be the case if our goverment had acted with more energy this war woulde have been closed up last summer and this infernal Rebellion would at present belong to things that are past and gone the cry among the Soldiers and officers is and has been why this inactivity what are we laying around in camp doing nothing for when there is plenty of Rebels to fight and our country is going to distruction you know I have not been in the habit of complaining but my patience is almost exhausted all we want down this way is to have the worde passed to us saying Boys go in to the Rebels and it woulde be but a short time untill this portion of the Army woulde have there share of the work done up according to style Malvina the letters I write you are for you to Read and no one else when I want them to Read my letters I will write to them. again can you Read my letters very well if not I will write more plain so that you can Read them /

 

Tuesday Morning Nov 18

                                                the mail has come but no letter from Home I Received one from Harter to day dated the 3^rd of this month I hope this may finde you all well my health is good. be saving of your money for there is no telling when we I will get paide again as for my selfe I have at present got to be very saving do not get Willies Tomb stone yet for a while I want to get a nice one after a while as for his likeness I will send it the first good oportunity presents it selfe I ame going to get one taken from it before I send it our letters going and coming are frequently very mutch delayed on the Road I Regret very mutch that sutch is the case but we must submit to sutch inconveniences as cheerfully as possible hoping for a better time to come    Yours most Truly

                                                                                                            S J Keller

 

Mrs M E Keller

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