HENDERSON COUNTY, TN - LETTERS - John C. Smith to wife Lucinda J. Payne Smith, 30 Jul 1864 ----¤¤¤---- NOTE: Written on the lower half of 2 attached ledger sheets. Capital letters and sentence breaks are added for ease of reading. I have added a few word parenthetically that I deemed especially useful. - RGE 2003 Page 1st Shanon Station Miss 10 mile above Oaklona July 30th 1864 Lucinda J. Smith my dear wife I once more take my pen in hand my paper on my knea to write you a few lines to let you know my present condition. I am well with the exception of my bowels. My bowels has bin runing off three or four days. I taken a good bait of green corn which started them. Hav quit eating rosenears (roasting ears). I hope I will be beter in a day or two. I hope if this gets to you it will find you and our precious little children in the best of health and plenty to live on. We are getting plenty in camp to eat such as corn bread good fat beef some bacon & green corn but I want some good biscuit of your own baking with buter and honey or lases to spraed them. And from every thing I can find out I think Bells Brigade will move in to Tenn shortily at least that is the general talk in camp which I hope will be. So tell uncle Newton and aunt Iby I hav not forgoten them nor their many kind favors. Yet and never in life and hope to eat apples and drink cider a gain with them as I suppose their trees are full and our mill can grind them. If the mill wont grind when I get home we can soar fix it for it does sam (seem) to me I want some good cider more than I ever did in life before. Why it is I cant tell unless it is because I am away and think of home so much and the many pleasures of the feast in comparison with the many hardships & difficulties of the present but when I consider the gain we must pick up resilution & brave the storm & look forward in hope for that beter day that's coming. What a hapy time it will be if we can only be finished. To get home safe and sound and enjoy the kind embraces of our loved ones and enjoy that piece and hapiness we once did with out being interrupted or disturbed. It seams to me if piece could only be made it would cirtanley (certainly) be the greatest blessing that ever could be bestowed on our land and country { look for next page Page 2nd You may tell Sandy and Selena Thom is not well. He has been puny for several days. I think he has only taken cold and is coffing tolerable bad but his aaugh (ague) seams to be rather a big racking cough and I am fearful he is taking the fever but he said he was better this morning but now complaining of his head is busting very bad. Henry is out to a courer (courier?) line leading from Oakalona to Pontotoc. He has bin in that line four days. How long he will stay I don't know probably not very long. Joel Pierce has not bin in camp yet and I hav not heard from him beter than a week. He was taken to (lost lines) up to the **** to look **** at Laffette Springs (lost lines) bin down as far as Egypt **** bin ****at Pikesville several days and (lost words) times for *** we got back (lost words) We may stay here cant tell and *** son of Tom Writ. I hope at long last ****think **** going to **** Tenn it seams (lost words) and ****think we will get thair after while but I want you to write every chance for if I should be in half a day travel of home I would be glad to get a leter even from a **** good neighbor or friends at any time of home nuse. The loving companion whom *ee*se (lost lines) I **** over the prattlings of our dear little children to have direct from them would be a source of enjoyment to me at any time. McNatt is well and as far as I in the country today to get his and my cloths washed. Ethan Austins health is bad and has bin nearly all the time he left camp a wile a go to go to some hospitle **** a few days til his health gets beter **** ought to be at home and stay thair if he could. I hav no idy he will even be back in camp. Bud Webb is sick but is still in camp. Thair is a good deal direair (diarrhea) in camp. **recon if you **** yet **** you will find some more on this sheet **** to read if I hav time to write yet. (On the reverse of page 2) July 31st I am better off in the bowels this morning. I hav bin down to Rices Company to sea Thom. Just as I got thair Thom got in the ambulance and started to the hospitle at Oakalona and I did not talk but a few words to him this morning. He said he thought he was some beter. Joseph Horten, one of his mess mates said he thought Thom had chills. Thom looked very pale but went off a sitting up in the ambulance. I felt sorry to see him go off but he will be beter treated thair then he could be here in camp. I am in hopes he will get well soon tho we can not tell as to that. All of our boys are rubbing up their guns for inspection this morning at ten Oclock. I hav no gun to rub. I giv up my gun to ordily (orderly) Roof in the fight and he got it misplaced & I haven't sean it since. I will now till you who my mess mates are R. Johnson, N. C. Bell, E. H Austin, S. H. Kennedy, P. B. McNatt, W. H. Ogwin & myself. We are all present but Henry and Austin. This morning I am writing McNatt a cooking beef Kennedy gone after water Bell gon out after green apple pyes Ordily Roof trotting round as usial doing nothing. We are camped at a very nice place plenty of water for our horses in ten steps of where they are hitched in a small creek. We get our cooking water at the same place we get our drinking water from an artigion (artesian) well about a quarter of a mile off. We have rise water to drink. It runs out in a pretty little spout so it can not be muddied and messed up and affords plenty of drinking water for Bell Brigade. We hall (haul) foriage and commissaries from the depot at Shanon Station about two & a half or three miles west of where we now are. Some of our boys are having corn today which is an ever days business. (This paragraph is written in the left margin) The last on this side. You wrote to me to fetch you some solid sulpher & I believe copris but I don't know whither can get it or not. More than that I am out of money but I can get it and hav the chance I will fetch you some when I come if it is but little. In hopes of coming before long. JC Smith (Following written on 2 margins at right angles to each other, first section on side margin and second on bottom margin.) P. 4th Here is the fourth and last page. You penned to want to scold me a little in your last but I taken it all in good fun considering both our conditions at the present time. Hoping all will be right when we again meat. So you must bare with me if you can and do the very best you can for your self and the children. I will still try to make the very best shift for my self I am master of and heartily wish I could be with you and the children to help provide for you and then I will hav to quit writing in order to get my letter started in time. Giv my respects to all (Other margin) enquiring friends if thair be and retain all my love. Your self you must write every chance. JC Smith To L. J. Smith his loving wife Tell Mr Joseph Clonney I want him to make me a fur hat out of E. H. Austins fur if he has it to fit my head. I and Austin has talked about the fur. He says I can hav enough for one hat as he has enough for two. ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: R. Easley ___________________________________________________________________