Pilot-Knob, Mo. Mon. Apr. 27^th 1863.

 

            My Dear Wife,

                                    Last night I rec'd two letters from you, one of which was mailed the 18^th and the other 21^st inst. These are the first letters I have had from you since the one that came to Benton Barracks while we were down at Memphis and dated March 28^th. The news you write is a mixture of good and bad but too much of the latter to make the composition equal to a medium.

 

            I was glad to know that you had recovered so much as to venture  to do any out-door work. You certainly have improved very fast lately. I was not much surprised to hear that / Harvey was sick, knowing that he had taken the mumps. I have seen enough of that disease in the army to convince me that it is not so trifling as people used to tell me. If he does not get well soon I am sure I do not know what you can do about geting the spring work done. If Dave and I had rec'd our just dues in the army we could have made your circumstances less embarressing, but as it is I am afraid we can not give you much assistance for about four months to come. From the reading of your letters I think there must be one link of the information lost, viz. your going home from Pa's. I expect that in about two or / three months the tardy letter will come slipping in.

 

On the evening we left S^t Louis I penciled you a few lines and left with a man to mail for me (as I had not time to do it myself) which if he did and you have rec'd them, they informed you that this place had been captured by the rebels, which was not the case. I think the report was founded on the fact that Marmaduke had captured Fredrick's Town, a place about twenty miles from here. The paroled prisioners I saw at the cars at S^t Louis were taken at Fredrick's Town—not here as was reported. We have not got into a fight yet but are looking for it every minute.

 

Since we came here the 34^th / has been trotted through pretty lively. We have not slept but one whole night in the same place since we left Benton Barracks. We arrived here about 2 o'clock A.M. Wed; at dark the next evening Co. K and three other Co's marched out five miles south of this place to a narrow pass between two mountains on the Fredrick's Town road with orders to hold the place against the passage of the enemy if possible. We lay there in line of battle for 48 hours and last night at dark we were ordered back to this place. We had hardly got roled up in our blankets till the long roll commenced beating Of course we got into line of battle as quick as possible. The alarm proved to be false but nevertheless we stood in that position till daylight.

 

Today we moved our camp

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