Sadalia Mo Aug the 25/62

 

                                                                                                                        Dear Father & Mother & friends I take my pen this evening to write once more to you to let you know that I am still alive and well and that I rec'd your kind and welcome letter last Friday night and was glad to hear from home and to hear that you was all well I should have written to you yesterday but I was on duty and had not time to write but I take this opportunity I have written to you once a week since I left home or this is the 5^th lef letter that I have written to you and I have rec'd but one letter yet from union County or any where els I will now try to give you the news we did not leave here as I anticipated and I do / not know when we will leave here but I do not think that we will here for a month or two the has been two little Battles in this part of the state in the last two weeks the first was at Indepenadnce two weeks ago yesterday we had two hundred men and the rebles had 8 hundred our men were all taken prisoners I saw some of them at St louis the other was at lone Jack ten miles from Independance it was fought day before yesterday there was 8 hundred federal troops and 3000 rebles they fought 5 hours and our men had to retreat the lost some two hundred in killed and wounded and the reble loss was about three hundred

 

I have not been of over the Country any yet and I cannot tell you much about it only we have some 25 or 30 prisoners in the guard house / at this place and several contrabands in the camp there was some of the men came here yesterday that was in the battle at lone Jack there has been some drafting done in St louis but none in this part of the state for the militia has turned out almost to a man and I heard from Iowa last week and the statment was to this affect that she has made up her quota of the men for the army and two regiments over I have not seen heard from fred nor [?] and I have not heard from nobody but I think I will get some letters to night

 

I believe I have wrote all the news so I will close by at asking you to write soon and give me all the news and give my love to all my friends I have send you $15 this and I would have send you more but I did not get it and could not send it that money that F / sent take it and use it for I wrote to him and told him that I would not kneed it and for him to send it to you

 

but I suppose he did not get before he sent the money and I have not wrote to him since I left home but I intend to write to him this evening and I want you to send all the letters that comes for me to me I have given you the directions so I suppose I kneed not give them them again I shall have to go on parade so good by

 

from your affectionate son

and Brother John Reed

 

I have just been out on Battallion drill and I am tired I have nothing more to write ony the sickness in our there is at this time 36 men that is unfit for duty on account of sickness

                                                                                    Joseph Milner and

                                                            Steven Messenger

SOURCES