Apr 4..62

            Camp Shilo Pittsburg landing Tennessee..6 Iowa

            vol, co F,       

 

  well Dear wife and children i do not know whether my letters all go through or not so i will write ofton my health is improveing fast i am trying to do duty i was on grand revew yesterday we was inspected by Gen Sherman and Gen U S Grant and lots of Colonels we made a splendid apearance our guns ar brite as silver our brass shining like gold our dress coats and pants nicely brushed our over coats neatly roled and tied on our knapsacks it tiered me some but our band is with us, it will chear a sick man if he is fond musick. i think i could march 5 milds farther in a day with the band than with out it today i have been drilling camp drill i slept midling well last nite coughft some but if i can keep from takeing cold again i think my health will sloly imrpove our ovens are up again so we will get lite bread in place of those confounded old harde crak, no shingles we will be apt to lay heare on our ores for some time. the rebbel force at Corinth 18 or 20 milds from here are stronger than i stated in my last they are 80 or 90 thousand and being reinforced daily they have chopt down the timber for 2 milds out side of there intrenchments they have heavy guns on there walls / the place is said to be strongly fortified we are wating for more reinforcements we now have one hundred and 25 thousand but we want more we will get some from island no tenn and Gen Hallock we think will be hear soon and we will land some brigades up the river at a place calld watterloo and come in on the other side of them. our gun boats fiered on watterloo a few days since the next day they landed some infantry to glean out the well all the men wimmen or children for milds around they could find was an old feeble man seting on a back porch across legd and in tears he stated that the remainder of the inhabitance had fled for safty our men may besege the fortified Corinth cut off there supplies and starve them out. well i have eat dinner we are campt beside a 46 Ohio reg it was made up at Columbus a few from Delaware some from Union a few from Marion County they baried a ft sargant and our reg a private to-day the bands played a slow dead march in rear of the escort and corps followed up by camp of which they belonged the officers in rear of camp with reversed soards O how hard it seams for there graves to be in this lone woods in place of there own native land whare some friend could shed a silent tear—as i look upon such scenes what solomn thoughts of death and eternity pass through my mind O who will be caled next, will he be prepared or not O how good it is to be ready for death

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