Franklin, August 30th 1862
My Dear Husband,
Yours of the 23rd came to hand today by Mr. Bird. I need not tell you that it was gladly and thankfully received, for I had just been thinking that it would be a long time to wait until Tuesday for a letter. I did not know that there was any person gone there for you to write by and might have known that I would get one for I think you are to good to let any person pass without writing to me. I may be mistaken in you but I hope not. I am very proud of Jeffs likeness. I shall look at it often and think that perhaps the time will come when I can see the original. Speed oh speed the time when I shall have the exquisite pleasure of once more looking upon the face of my dear husband. It is now five months since you left here and Oh! How long the time does seem. Truly we say " many the changes since last me met". I almost feel like when I think about your coming that I am going to meet a stranger. I think I will feel a little like I used to when we were courting.
I am sorry you did not get to come with Mr. Bird. I think you might afford to beg your Col. a little for the sake of getting to see your wife and children, especially the one you have never seen. That is if you want to see us much bad. I know that I would stoop to ask anybody now if I thought I could get to see you. But I shall not ask you to do anything against your will in this matter. I will only ask you as I have often done before, come just as soon as you can get the chance. I hope your boys have reached camps and that you have received the letter I wrote you by Joe Young. I should like to see you when you get my letters and see if you are glad to get them. I wrote another letter to send by Sid Slagle but his company started before he sent for my letter and he could not wait for it. I will send it in the same envelope with this letter. I guess you will think that after receiving the letter I did today and reading the words you sent to Matt that I ought not to have sent that, but I will know that if you are right it will do no harm, and if your are not, I do not care if it does harm. I am almost tempted to believe that there is no dependence to be put in man and I would be very sorry to think that my husband had to be numbered with the rest. After me believing that I was blest with a good and virtuous husband. I sincerely hope and pray that it may be so yet. But I must confess that I do not like such reports. I am afraid that it will make no difference, if such is your thoughts let me beseech you by all you hold sacred on earth, do not think so. Oh my dear husband if you just knew my feelings when I even think for one moment that perhaps you are not true. I know you would be true. I never go to bed at night but what I wonder if you are gone to your hard bed and wish you were here to sleep with me and how happy I would be and then I wonder if you are thinking about me and if you wish you had me to sleep with, sometimes I think perhaps you do and then again I think perhaps he is like some others, any other woman will do as well. Oh miserable thoughts to think that my husband would so far forget me, as to be satisfied with any body else. If you have just write and tell me and I shall not trouble you by begging you to come home anymore. I will try and content myself and let you alone in your happiness.
Wile Siler has at last made his appearance, he came this evening. I will not write you any of the general news as Mr. Reid can tell you all. Your Pa thinks his cough is some better. I paid Lieut. Anderson for the ginghams. He had to give a dollar a yard for it. He did not get any cotton flannel, it makes no difference about it. I think I can make out without it.
I will close for tonight, as it is nearly eleven o’clock. I have something I would like to write but I will wait and see if you will get to come home as I had much rather tell you than to write it. Good night may you have pleasant dreams is the wish of your true devoted wife………Mary
Taswell Sept 1st 1862
My dear Wife,
After 2 days hard marching from Morristown we arrived here last night. With sore feet and galded Asses. I galded very bad, under my arms is very sore. I had to leave my trunk. I bought me a satchel & got it hauled also my bedding. I got a small box with a lock & key & brought my writing materials. It is 30 miles from here to Morristown & some of the roughest mountainous roads I ever traveled. Nantahala is a small potato to the Clinch Mountain, both for rocky and steepness. The boys all had their blankets & knapsacks. They had heavy loads. We had a very hot and dusty time. We have no tents, it rained on us last night very hard. While the most of us lay and took it, some went to a barn close by, its showering today.
Its 13 miles to the gap from here. There was cannonading up there yesterday. The people here say they heard 113 guns yesterday, they was firing at our forces on the other side. I don’t know what damage was done. They are cannonading nearly every day but do little damage. We have them completely surrounded and they are nearly out of provisions, so deserters from their camp say. They are coming daily to our pickets. I have nothing of importance to write. Stonewall & Morgan is still whipping them. You will see their fights in the papers.
I am again under arrest, again not by myself. Every commander of comp is also arrested for disobedience of orders. Not marching our companys in line, an order he did not give. He only told us to keep our companys together. He is drunk all the time, the boys pray for a fight. They say they will do their duty at home first. Somebody I think will be hurt when an opportunity affords. I know not how long we will stay here some think we will go on to Kentucky, some say to the gap. I don’t know we have sent a courier to the gap informing the Genl command that we are here. I reckon we will know this evening what we will do. I will stop for present. I think we all ought to send in our resignations, some few are willing to do so. I shall use my best endeavors to get them all to do so.
The order has come back from near the gap & says we are ordered to Powels Valley, some 8 miles from here with 3 days ration cooked, that looks like Kentucky. There was no damage to our forces yesterday, our men was taking, some 3 hundred bushels wheat the yanks had near the foot of the mountain under their guard our forces slipped up and took it. They was hoping to drive them off but never. I will write you every chance, direct yours to this place. My best to Matt, Pa and relations. Kiss my babys often for me. I remain your true loving husband …..Alf
Franklin, Sept 5th 1862
My Dear Husband,
I received your letter of the 27th informing me of your move to Taswell. I am sorry that you had to move from there before coming home. The thoughts of you getting further away puts me rather out of heart. I hope it will not be the means of delaying your coming. I also hope your moving is no indication of your being in a battle. If you are in one, I hope that God will protect you and bring you safely through and that you may once more be permitted to return to your family, who I do assure you are looking anxiously for that time to arrive. God grant that it may not be long.
I hardly know how or what to write, for it seems to me uncertain whether you get this letter or not. I shall direct to Taswell though and hope that you may get it. I received your letter dated 25th which was written before Mr. Bird left there last Tuesday. It does seem to me that letters are much longer coming by mail than they ought to be and I fear that they will be a great deal longer now. I will look so anxiously for the next. I do hope that you will write as soon as you possibly can. I hope that Mr. Reid has reached you before this time and you have received my letters as to your boys going back or at least some of them. I think they are quite easy on the subject. Mr. Owens has pretended to start several times, but I understand is at home now. Man Stuman started back the other day. I loaned him five dollars and took his note for it. I also had to loan Ike Henry five yesterday, and took his note, he talked like him and some more of the boys were going to start sometime next week. I let him have a bottle of sweet oil and one of Mg, which made it 80 cents and I included it in the note, making it $5.80 which you must collect when they draw. I have paid off all of your men except T. W. Glass. I reckon there will be administrators appointed next week for the others as it is court week. I hope so, I want to pay it all out and be done with it. I guess some of them need the money. Jesee Siler is at home now. They started him out to buy horses and he made it convenient to come by home. He will start back next week. I understand Tim Sloan has a great big daughter. I have not seen her yet. I sent her word that I was going to have some court martialing done at her house. She says that people could not expect anything better of her husband than to get girls. You say that you are anxious to see my brag babe, if you could see her you would not wonder at me bragging. You never can beat her, you might perhaps change the sex but that is all you could do. I think you give your boys to someone else. I expect if I knew it you will have several boys scattered about against this wars end. From the word you send Matt I reckon I ought not to doubt you but I am afraid man is not to be trusted especially those that have bad reports told on them. There is always apt to be some fire where there is any smoke. I am getting along tolerably well am trying to dry all the fruit I can, so that if I get out of everything else I can live on dried fruit. I would have had plenty of corn to have done me until corn came but I have to let your Pa have what he uses now. I reckon I will not share after that gives out. I wanted to save my wheat all I could but I will now have to use that. Your Pa wants me to stay with him this winter. He says he is going to quit the whiskey business. I thought I would not write to you about it hoping you would come home soon so that we could talk about it, but I am afraid that you will not get to come soon. I think that if you are willing it would be better for me to stay there this winter on account of wood. It would not take so much wood to do us and we now have to carry all our water form there and besides your Pa has to have Liza to do all his running about as Elijah has left him and he says that he will not take him back if he can help it. Our well has fallen in so that we can not get any water out of it and there is no chance to get any person to fix it now. I would not want to move anything down there only what I would need. I would just fasten the house up tight and nail and fix up the gates so as to keep the hogs out and if we wanted to come back here next summer we could do it and even if we did not, I could have the lot tended and make something for us to live on next winter, but I do hope the war will end and we will get on our own place before that time. I wish I could have hopes of you getting to stay at home this winter anyhow, but if they are going to take the 45 men I reckon none will get to stay at home if you were to come now they would take you again would they not. You know better about it than I do, do try and come soon some how if you have to beg a little for a furlough, are you not getting very tired of me asking you in every letter to come home. I hope you will not think hard of me if you wanted to see me as bad as I do you, I know you could not blame me. Well I have not got your guns at home yet not even the big one. I loaned it to Sid Slagle I reckon he left it at his house and Gibs McDowel has gone, he did not bring the one he had and I did not know that he was gone until yesterday. I will ask his father about the gun the first time I see him as to the one De has I think his calculation is to take it to war with him, you know how he is about anything especially when he is drinking you might as well talk to the wind. Bob is going to tell him he bought it and bring it to me, the first time he goes up there. We heard the other day that Burdit Williams was dead, we have since heard that he came to after being dead a half hour. I understand they supposed it was cramped colic he had. I reckon you will see in the Carolinian that Mr. Smith has lost two of his children before this reaches you. One of the twins and their baby, some say it was scarlet fever and some diphtheria. They broke out like scarlet fever. The babe still coughs, but is does not seem to hurt her much. She still keeps fat, I have got her tied in the rocking chair and am rocking her now while I am writing to keep her quite she was quite smart has been holding things in her hands and playing with them for sometime. I will close for I know that you will wish I had quit long since unless my writing was more interesting. I am afraid you think my letters are foolish. I could write as much more but fear I will fail to interest you, ever believe me your true devoted wife……Mary
I hope you will still continue to write as often as you possibly can, do not think that I will get tired of reading your letters, I would be glad if they were forty times as long and came everyday if it could be possible. I hope the next one you write will contain the glad news that I may look for you home. I will be glad if they take the 45 men just an some mens account, I forgot to tell you that I had sent for the Asheville News the Richmond Dispatch has stopped and we have no paper but the Carolinian. John Ingram wrote for the news for me. I guess it will come next mail.
Millsville, Loudon Co.,Va.
Sept 12th 1862
Dear Sister,
As an opportunity of writing has at length presented itself. I have concluded to impore it by writing to all my correspondents, and I will have to consider you as one although your letters are few and far between. You will no doubt say the same of mine, but you must take into consideration my chances of writing. It is seldom when on a march we meet with a chance of sending letters to an office. If we write them even now I do not know when I have the chance to send this, there is no office near here and all letters have to be sent by private conveyance back to Orange C. H. or Gordonsville.
I wrote to Pa the other day & sent it to the office. We have not heard anything from home for a month. Half of you may be dead for aught we hear. We have had quite a lively time lately, a good deal of fun but rather on the hard order.
I would like to give you a full account of our travels for the past month but it would be impossible to do so in a letter. You will hear all by other sources. Since we left Orange C.H. which is about a month ago, we have been on a constant march and one that for hardships, toil and privation has no equal since this unholy war began. We have suffered a little of all most everything, hunger, thirst, fatigue, and many poor fellows are suffering from wounds received in the many battles we had to fight on the way. We had no means of bringing provisions with us, only what we could carry in our haversacks, and had to depend on what could be obtained through the country and that was precious little as the yankees had destroyed almost everything in the country through which we passed. We were compelled to live for several days together on corn alone. We captured a great deal of provisions from the Yankees but could not save only what we could carry and had to destroy the remainder. But for all we have suffered, I think we are amply repaid. We have routed and driven the Great and Grand Army off Virginia soil. Killed and captured thousands of them besides destroying millions of dollars worth of property for them and our army is now in Maryland going on. I hope it will not be long until the last yankee will be driven off her soil and the war carried to their own homes. They have never suffered from the ravages of the war, but when their country is invaded and they feel a little of what the south has felt a great deal of, then and not till then will they say for peace.
Our army is now sufficient to go any where, when they can find subsistence & I hope it is the intention of our commanders to improve the opportunity of invading their soil and destroying a few of their towns and cities and learn them what way is home.
So far we have lost but few men, although we have had several sever engagements. Providence has certainly been on our side. Our Co has been in 4 hard battles besides several little skirmishes and has lost men killed and but 3 wounded.
Joe was wounded in the right arm. I am staying at this place to take care of him. He has been right sick for several days, but is now improving. His wound is doing well. I think I can leave him in a few days. I am anxious to go on to the army. I cannot tell you where to direct your letters too, should you write, which I hope you will soon. You must be governed in that by the news you receive from the army. I will have to finish this letter as there is no chance to get stamps here. Joe sends his love to you and the children. Write and remember your brother…….Mike
Morristown, Ten Sept. 18th 1862
My Dear Wife,
Your very kind letter of 5 come to hand 16 while I was on picket near the Baptist Gap. The next night Cumberland Gap was evacuated by the yankees, which was Wednesday night. Our forces was ordered Thursday morning to pursue them. I was ordered Thursday morning by Coleman to go to Knoxville for arms, for our regt and when I went up to Gen. Stevenson heading 8 miles off point Cumberland Gap. He informed me that the gap was abandoned and all of our forces would be ordered on. He approved my requisition for arms, but said for me to go back & tell Col. he had better arm his men with flint lock guns, though for the present. I then thought & looked I would not have to come, but Col. Coleman said he would take the flint locks, but he wanted me to go on to Knoxville & if possible get my requisition filled & try see them through. He said as I was nearly on the list with rheumatism & hardly able for service he thought it best for me to go & as my co and regiment was entitled to good arms & my boys unarmed, I should come procure good guns for them, I came on here. I road about 40 miles yesterday & tried to take the train this morning at day light, will go down on the evening train. Will be gone for 3 days. I thought I would write you from here & probably you would get it Tuesday evening. I met Col. Owens last night (cant read these two sentences to faded and broken) 3 or 4 of Crawfords Co. I hope they will get to the Regt before they leave for Kentucky. We are glad the Yankees have left the gap though I think they ought to have been surrounded & captured, after Gen. Smith left the other side they fell to here. I have no more news only that Old Stonewall has gained another great victory at Harpers Ferry of which you will see in the papers. I will write you again either from Knoxville or this place before I go back. Roane & Holebrooks are well & all my boys. John McDowell was left at Tazwell & I have not heard of him since. He was complaining & said he did not feel like marching. I did not have time yesterday to hunt him up yesterday but will as I return back. I want you to send to D. Cuningham & Gibs McDowels fathers for my guns. They had better give them up they might get them selves in a fight by refusing to do so. I don’t get better of my pains soon I shall try to get leave of absence to come home. Ill teach them how to act, cut with me when I am absent. Ill let those (?) know that they shall not tamper with my property. As for president Baty staying on my place, tell him I expect him to remain on it if I saw he was doing any good for himself & me, but if he turns his attention to brandy it is better the place & things go to rocks & shall not let him stay. I am in hopes he will do right, as I should like him to stay on the place, there is land enough for us booth & he is so handy & I think he & I could agree always, tell him he must divide the brandy with me. I now think I will be at home before long. I was glad to get so good a letter from you. It was very different from the others I get & this is different from the ones I wrote you before, I hope never to get another such or have to write another such but enough of this
Wheat is worth 250 per bushel I think you and Pa ought to buy what you may need now, for it won’t get any cheaper I think you & Pa also ought to buy all the corn you may need as soon as corn is gathered as for you living with Pa this winter, I have no objections if he will not keep liquor for sale. I think he ought to quit it now anyhow & collect & wind up his old business while money is plentiful, buy and speculate in land (?) I now believe again that the war will soon close. I think the Yankee nation is tired of the war & will split among their selves at their election in Oct & Nov, God grant it. I am pretty bad off with rheumatism of booth hips & toes. I am not suffering much of a day time but of a night they hurt me pretty bad. I am stiff & sore I hope you & my dear little babes are well & I hope will enjoy good health until I come home, I know that I could (?) (?) & (?) so good. I will not express my desire but I know I never wanted to see home so bad in my life, don’t think I am cold & care but little for home, because I don’t write it. I try to keep my home thought to my self as much as possible. I am sorry Pa’s cough is not better I hope he has got something that will relieve him, before now. My love to Matt & Pa & relations. Kiss my sweet little babes often for me & believe me to be a true loving husband, I remain your Alfa
Write to Tazwell.