Nov 21, 1861                                      J G Scoville

            Sedalia company F 6 reg Iowa vol Mo

 

            Dear Ruth and children i write again to you informing you that i am well i injoy exelent health for which i am verry thankful and hope these lines may find you all injoying the same blessing we went from St Louis to Jefferson city then to Syracuse whare i mald ten dollars to you then we went to Springfield on a force march after Price and his army when we got there he was gone we capt on the battle ground where there was a battle fought one weak be fore we arived there our men whipt them lik thunder the rebbels that was not killed fled in everry direction i saw the ground still drencht with blood and the rocks and bushes was still red with human gore some of our men dug open some of the places whare the rebbls was hurryedly baryed some two ft deep from 10 to 20 in a place tumbled in together. lieutenant Grimes and some others went over to wilsons creek to see the battle ground /

 

wilsons creek is 12 milds from Springfield

there, that battle was fought some time since. they say it was a horrable scene that was a large and terrible fight well the talk now is that we will go back to Iowa to winter but we do not know whare we will go we may go to kentucky or we may be discharged as soon as we arive at St Louis we are here at Sedalia wateing for the cars to go to St Louis. when we was at Springfield we was 65 thousand strong ready for a free pich in but there was nobody to fight so we returned the 27^th Iowa reg have been badly cut to pieces in some battle i disremember whare there has been a greate deal of sickness in our brigade our company has dwindled away untill there is but thirty men in it able for duty many is the brave soldier i have seen folowed to the to his silent grave with the muffled drum and twelve soldiers with reversed arms while the band played the dead march and after he was let down the 12 soldiers discharge ther guns ore his grave three times it is a solm scene to witness to see brave young men away from there homes away from there friends / on the bank of some river or on some lonly hill or in some wild forrest consined to the grave it will cause many a tear to trimble down the cheak of the sterdy soldier. O Ruth you cannot tell how bad i wanto be with you and the children i would be so happy to have little toty on one knee and Sibby on the other and see you all but i am far from you on a plesent side hill by a little creek seting in my tent writeing these lines i have put the beef on to boil for supper and i must stop writeing be fore long and make some coffe i have two men to assist me when we are on the march and one when we are in camp it is verry hard cooking on the march i have cooked many a night untill 2 oclock and then got breakfast before day and then marched all well the cooks do not have to stand gard nor drill nor carry there knapsack we have a waggon drawn by 6 mules for each company Clay Stuart is our teamster. i could write severall sheats strate a long but i do not get much time / i have the care of all the rations and the cooking to see to and several sick ones to fix up something for well i cooked my time out and then they wanted me to keep on they sayed that i suted the company better than any one elce had. the company has come in from drill so i must get supper well supper is over it is dark and raining i am laying on my blankets my candle ceting on a camt kettle of sugar that we set in the tent to keep it dry. write to me often write how you are geting a long i would send you more money if i thought it would reach you be of good chear all may be well yet O the happy hours that we have spent together how happy was we then may i be blest with a safe return and may god protect you give my respects to pap children be good to your poor Mother her that been so misused O may god forgive me my rong. if we meet not on earth meet me in heaven whare peace and joy forever reigns i wish my paper was longer i would lik to write more John G Scoville

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