October the 1 1863

 

Dear brother it is with the greatest pleasure that i take my pen in hand to write a few lines to you to let you no that wee are all well and and hope tose few lines may find you improving in health mary Jane and the Children are well. wee moved her over to ashley a weeak ago to day she thought that it would be better for her on the acount of her Children going to school this winter we are agoing to help her / all we can she she received a lett from you night before last stating that you had the chill and feaver i hope that you will be in the best of health when those few lines reaches you thare is great sadness and gloom spread over our neighborhood since the battle near Chatanoga Chattanooga on the acount that so manny of our boys being cilled and wounded nearly all the boys from our neighborhood / ware in the fight i will tell you the names of the cilled and wonded as far as i hav heard we hav not got the ful report yet but expect to get it to night cilled John bensley william shoemaker that is all that i hav of being cilled but thare is more but we hav not got thare names yet mortally wonded Jarves alldrige lieutenant shotwell of ashley william baxter Jeroam lewis is shot threw threw boath legs John / shoemaker has 2 fingers shot from boath of his hands elias Coal is wonded in his sholder the ball pased threw his sholder and was found in his napsack John richardson was shot threw his hand elmar wilcons is allso wonded but i do not no whether severly or not and a great my many more that you are not acquainted with william baxter lieute lieutenant shotwell and Jarves alldrige thay think / can never get well being shot threw the abdoman thay said that when Jane baxter got the news that william william was mortay wounded she screamed that they could hear her a quarter of a mile poor thing i expect she is a wido by this time as well as a great manny more i feal to mourn with the rest for our noble boy boys for the best blood of our Cuntry is pourd on out on the battle field / and while they are fiting fiting and diing and triing to put down rebellion in the south thare is a nother clas of men here at home triing to distroy the peace of thare own state those men are variously cauld copperheads butternuts or valandinghamers they say that they are a going to have valandingham for the govenor of the state of ohio and if he aint permited peacidible to come home and take his place as such they will ras an army and swear the whole north but i think they / will have no nead to rais an army he will be elected i hope not at least for we hav trouble anougf in our Country allready henry has been to woster in the east part of this state all the millissia ofisers had to go thare to drill he was gone 8 days he said thay had a good time he said it seamed real soldier like they drilled in westfield last Saturday and on Monday thay a regimental drill in Cardington henry will write to you before long / i must close for this time by asking you to excuse my short letter please direct to westfield

 

                        from your sister

                        mary Boston

 

O i must tell you mary Jane got a letter henry elliot and he is wounded in the foot and i ges by what he sais that he killed the verry man that wounded him

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