William G. Gage to Catharine A. Gage, 10 January 1864
Jan 10th 1864.
Camp near Stephensburgh Va.
 
Dear Mother
                       Your letter of the 3 inst is just received.
 
I was very glad to hear from home but I have not been worried about you although I have not heard from home in several days.
 
You say Charley Voorheis is still lingering languishing in hospital. I guess you could not have heard from him very lately I received a letter from him night before last saying he was expecting a discharge the last of last week & start home the same week or the first of this.
 
You want me to come home that is apply for my discharge on account of the diarhea I have had. if you knew how difficult it is to get a discharge you would not think of such a thing I know men who do no duty & who / are excused from duty daily by the doctor but who can not get their discharge nor get a way from the regiment unless they will go in to the invalid corps which they will not do because that corps is composed about one half of men who have gone in to it to get out of duty on the front.
 
I do not see the reason why you still continue to talk of the chronic diarhea which you think I have. I have writen home in the last four or five letters that I had got well besides I have never had the chronic diarhea. Capt. Darling wrote just what was so where he  he wrote you that I was gaining in flesh & I have also grown stronger & have been quite as harty as ever lately.
 
I am sorry to hear that Mrs Joshlin is dead.
 
Every one seems to think the war will end between this & the first of July next & I see by the papers that the / at home have some such impression to well I hope they are rightly impressed & so do all the soldiers on boath sides but they thought so several times & it is not at an end yet if the people at home sincerely wish the war to end they will heavily reinforce the armies in the field this winter & then an early spring campain all around will do the thing for them but if they do not reinforce the whole army they can safely count on an other year of war & perhaps more
 
You wanted to know how I spent new years well I will tell you I got up & say happy new year & scarcely thought of its being new years untill night when one of boys setting down to write a letter & asked me what day of the month it was & then I recolected it was the first of January new years day. Love to all.
 
Your affectionate son
Glover
 
PS                                                                                                     
I was very glad to get the handkerchief you sent as I was about out of that artical
 
[overleaf]
 
Glover
to his
Mother
Jany 10/64
Stephensburgh
15331
DATABASE CONTENT
(15331)DL1334.041105Letters1864-01-10

Tags: Death (Home Front), Discharge/Mustering Out, Hospitals, Illnesses, Reinforcements

People - Records: 2

  • (2613) [writer] ~ Gage, William Glover
  • (2618) [recipient] ~ Gage, Catharine A. ~ Glover, Catharine A.

Places - Records: 1

  • (118) [origination] ~ Stevensburg, Culpeper County, Virginia

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SOURCES

William G. Gage to Catharine A. Gage, 10 January 1864, DL1334.041, Nau Collection