Camp Labanon

Tenn Aug the 15^th

 

dear brother I once more take my pen to answer you letter which I received on rather a tardy arival it found me well and I hope this will find you the same I am not very well at this time as I have something like the flux and all so my old complaint a misery in the breast but this can be accounted for as I wer out to work on the fortifications yesterday throwing up dirt this is verry hard on the brest / as the dirt has to be thrown up hill as high as a mans breast and about 10 feet deep this is thrown out of a ditch about 10 broad and as deep as it requires it to be to get dirt enough to make the breast work this varies from 4 to 8 feet we are fortyfying at the mouth of battle creek where it emties into the Tenn River this is about 12 miles North west of stephensoro you will recognise the position as it is near the corners of Ala and Georgia 25 miles from Chattanooga the rebbels are reported to be 40 thousand strong here but we have some more than that number / but it is not practiable to state exactly the number just now we are in speaking distance of the enemy and frequently converse with them across the Tenn River one of our boys swam over to them yesterday after a paper under the promise that he might return but when he got over they took and marched him of to camp naked as he was his name was James Ryan the musician of C^o H but enough of rebledom I wish the war was over I am geting tired of the armey as we have such infernal officers that it is / to mak any one sick of it for our officers are nothing but a set of thieves from Col down to Orderly Sergeant for he will swindle as well as any of them by neglecting his duty for in this way our C^o has been swindled out of about 300 dollars in the way of back rations I supose robert is in the armey he is gone into the 16^th under Capt Redfield I wrote to him to advis him to stay out of the armey but the letter was to late he ad enlisted and he would not back off but I am sorry for him

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