Oct 27^th/62

Mobile Ala

 

Dear Brother

                        Yesterday's mail surprised me with a letter from Carrie on finding one enclosed from you You cant imagin with what pleasure yours was read I haned to Jimmy after reading it he said he would write to soon Brother Jimmy you give good advice I know you to bee a good moral man capable of giveing advice & had I followed the advice given by you & my good old mother I / would have been a good man But I think I am a better man than when I came into to army I have at least learnt to appreciate a good old mother and sisters I am confident had I the pleasure of liveing with them again I never would deny them as I have Brother Jimmy you speake of Gen Bragg that we dont know the wisdom of Gen's that I admit but I assure you he is a man of great prejudices and also tiranical I beleive him as true as any man in the / field but cant beleive him the man to fill the position he holds You also speake of the troubled condition of our country and wish the Yankies were sunk in a bottomless lake You will probaly bee surprised for me to tell you I have nothing against the Yankies after they have been convinced of their  error I consider this a fight between brothers brought on by fanaticism both north an south Our country had become to corrupt to bee at peace this war was obliged to come / and will continue untill fanaticism is crushed out and this war conducked in a more honorable way than it has been Its nothin but a war of speculation so far in which I beleive our government is taking an active part Cotton is sent from this port by the thousands at ship loads and the Yankies are to sharp to let a ship load of cotton pass only for their own ports besides Yankies vessels have run in here with cargoes of salt coffee an other things There is a traid kept up constantly of everything things through and cotton exchanged for them /

 

Brother Jimmy I have said more against our government than I ought I have said nothing of our Regt. Theirs been but little change since I wrote Our field officers have also been restord by order of secretary of war The men have been troubled with chiles Duties are still light We are still in charge of the Batteries All the surviveing prisioners taken at Shilough have reterned but of six taken from our company only survived four were all died one of the two that reterned is a mess mate of mine a nice yong / Doctor he was taken while waiting on our wounded he says he was treated very kindly had several suits given him by the ladies They are all well at home Carrie or Jule writes once a week Brother Wyley writes to me occasionaly I had the pleasure of seeing him last week he has greatly broken in the last few years he is as greate a fanatic as ever He was telling me at a meeting in his county he proposed a resolution to appoint a commity of five to hang every Yanky found in the County he says futhermore that the Yankies are a god forsaken people and they will pass out like the Jues. He says also he is in favor of never traiding with them again well I must close Paper is short / excuse this I am not well but up My love to sister tell her to remember me in her prays Truly your Brother C J Smith

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