Camp 79^th O.V.I. In

Lookout valley near Wauhatchie

Junction April 4^th 1864.

 

Sister Emma

                        I wrote a letter to Ann yesterday but knowing that it would be in compliance with your wishes to get a letter also and as it is a bad disagreeable day, I will write you a few lines. The weather has been very broken since we came here, hardly gives any time to wash and dry our clothes. I done my washing this morning and before it had got dry the rain came on and we had to take them in. Perhaps it is a curiosity to you to know how we get our washing done. We get old barrels and cut in two for tubs and we are furnished with soap and kettles enough that / we can heat water and wash quite decent. you wanted me to get all the photographs I could and send to you. I can get as many as you would want but I would have to give mine for them. several of the boys have been at me to get mine for they wanted it. Jane you wanted to know how that young lady up the road and I were getting along. I dont know for certain who you mean but I suppose that you have refferance to Miss Anna. I have not heard from her since I left home only as your and Uncles girls have wrote to me. you also wished to know if I had made acquaintance with any of the ladies of Shelbyville. I did not but it is the only place I have seen since I came into the south that I thought I would care anything about an acquaintance with the ladies. /

 

Emma in almost all of your letters you wish that I could be home and go to meeting or to singing with you. that is all right I am glad to think that you miss me at home. and I want to be with you just as bad but I cannot. I will put a letter in with this that I think is a good thing, and although it is written by a lady it expresses my thoughts better than I can. I wish that all women had the same kind of principal. last monday morning Captain stillwell came around for volunteers to build a church. those of us that could help went and cut logs and made boards and by satureday night we had a log cabin fifteen by twenty feet square completed and satureday night we dedicated it with a prayer meeting. we had one last night also and expect to / have another to night. there is great interest taken in them among the boys. I had a trip up on Lookout Mountain a few days ago. it is a grand sight surely. to stand down here it does not look very high but before we reached the top we were quite tired out. I cannot tell you all about it, but one thing that was strange to us was an Indian soldier that was standing guard. he belongs to the 21^st wisconsin. he could hardly talk plain enough for us to understand him. there was a great many strange things to us. we saw the smoke rising from the rebel camps. Well Emma my sheet is almost full and I must close. that photograph of Sanborns that has his legs cut please keep hid.

 

No more this time.

Good by

W^m H Bone. To E J Bone.

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