Ft Smith          Ark      March the 8^th 1865

 

                                                                                    Dear Father Mother & Sisters

it is with pleasure that I take my pen to inform you that I am enjoying good heath (I weigh 174) and I hope these lines may find you all well. I received two letters from you this morning one was written the 15^th of Jan the other the 7^th of Feb and I was truly glad to hear from you once more and to hear that you were all well and now to your letter of the 15^th Jan where you made the suggestion that Government was trying to get our money by starving us and then selling us provisions at fabulous prises I am happy to inform you that you are widly off the mark and let me here tell you that Goverment does not sell rations to her soldiers it is play off Citizens that are too big Cowards to go in to army but I can tell you why we lived so hard here last fall and the fore part of the winter it was missmanagement of / Goverment Officials and not the fault of Uncle Sam at all and now I will give you the Sequel. the Gen that was in Command has been removed and ordered to Wasington and there is a strong probability that he will loose his Commission and we have a new order of things we have a new Gen and we also have plenty to eat some to sprare so you see that your gags missed that time

 

and now in your letter of the 7^th Feb you was lamenting about the poor Negro that he was going to be free and be made better than white man well I can tell you without fear of contradiction that they are better than a great many white men for they are loyal to the United States and there is a class of whites that are and now do you remember the Pharsees that stood at the corners and made long prayers and gave alms in the sight of men and yet laid grivious burdens on mens sholders to greivious to be borne and would not tuch them even with their little fingers and does not the bible teach us that the / oppressed shall go free and can you not see that God is on our side our armies are going on Conquering and to Conquer it is not in their own strength but the God of Liberty and of Freedom is with us look for a moment how they treat our men and then say what will be the end you think according to the Richmond papers there is no prospect of peace (I was not aware before that you took the Richmond paper) and now let me tell you what I think about it I think the prospect for peace never has been so bright as it is at the present the Johnies are in the last dich and Grant and Sherman are about to push them to the wall you said Jasper had to sell his horse to get money to take him home I am surprised at you for believing such stuff he wrote to me that he had to sell his horse but not to get money to take him home but because there was an order from the war department to that effect but they will not have to pay their way home / and as for such men as T G W Smith and Co I presume you know what I think of them without my writing it and as for my self I am willing to support the goverment at any cost and when I get home if it is my lot to be drafted I do not expect to shirk it by running away but I was living in that Townsp Township I should be glad if such men as Smith Jeter &c were gone

 

and now we expect the paymaster soon and there is eight months pay due me and if you need any money let me know and if I get paid and have an opportunity to do so I will send you some and now as ever I should like to be at home but as I cannot be there I send my love to all O yes my Eyes are nearly well remember me kindly and write soon from your ever affectionate Son and Brother John Reed Co B 18^th

                                                            Iowa Vol Inft to Q Reed and family

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