Nov 28^th 1862

Camp near gallatin

Summer co Tenesee Tennisee.

 

Dear Mother

I again seat myself to write you a few lines that you may know how I am getting along. I am well all but a cold which I think is getting better. I am glad to hear that you are all well again and hope that you may remain so the Regiment is very unwell there is so many got the measeles there is five taken to the Hospital to day with them. jeff Smith has got them. We left Scootsville tuesday morning and marched about eight miles when we struck the tennisee line and I never / saw such a change in the appearance of things in such a short distance in my life for the roads were in good order and the people takes some pride in what they live in and how they dress. when in Kentucky they lived in log huts and made all of their own clothing, and you could not find one out of five that could read or write. this is a nice country around here it looks so much like Ohio that I almost think I am at home. I received the letter that Alvin sent dated the 19^th and the letters that you and Alex sent today. you said you would like to know how we live. We have full rations of crackers and meat and coffee but we are scant of / shugar rice beens and Mololasses that is all we get only when we get more coffee than we use we trade it off for corn meal and make mush. meal is 80 cts per bushel and coffee 25 cts per pound. we get about two pounds of coffee a week more than we use in our mess. We have tents large enough for 14 to sleep in and have about six inches of straw in the bottom to lay on so we sleep pretty well while in camp. but on a march we do not get the straw. I have very good comrades some of them is jeff smith sam Kersey shurwoods boys Henry Abull and the others are good civil boys. I have had bad luck when we started on the march I did not feel able to carry my / knapsack so I put it in one of the government wagons as they took our company wagon away from us. and when night came it was gone with evry thing I had but my Ruber blanket and over coat which I carried. I lost a blanket pair of new pants one shirt pair of drawers my boots bible your liknesses and one pair of them mittens. In all I lost about $12 worth. the way I came to loose my boots I drew a pair of shoes to march in and had them in my knapsack. As it is almost night and I have no more to write I must draw my letter to a close.

 

your affectionate son

W H Bone

 

Write soon.

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