Camp Picher Feb 15th 1863
Dear Sister Yours of the 6th and one wrote in Jan
came to hand a short time ago nad as I have an
opitunety I will adres you a few lines that I may receive
another from you. Wm Hanecome. And I are in the Bone
Ring buisnes You would laugh to two great live men
working evry spare moment making litle foolish rings but
we find fools enough to give us 75 cents apeas for them
and sinc Burnside was stuck in the mud we have
made enough to come to about $40 I have made enough
to come to about 25$ so you se we do a prety driving
buisnes. and with out doubt we make the womens
hearts hapy besides since making yours we have
got a few tools and some colered wax so that
we make quite a fancy article I have got sick
of the fun and have quit to write this leter wile
Wm is sawing bones with a saw made by
cuting teeth in a case knife Wile Paul is stewing
some beens I have ben to work to day on a ring and
to morow I will finish it and send it in this leter
I do not wish you to give it to any one that can
pray. and not pray for any soldier but my self for I
think that there are others that need prayers and
simpathy much more than my self. My health is
good and I have stood all the hardships and have
grown ruged fat and saucy, but those that were
not tough to stand the fires have ben crushed
but if there is any of your friends that likes a soldier
Beter than a pipe and whose heart beets for “liberty
and Union” and is good looking you and will except
of So trifling thing as a rude Bone ring you are
at liberty to give let them have it
[page 2]
At some times I get a litle ambitious and think how
I should like to become able to make a ring that
would be an orniment on the finger of the hand
of one that bears your name but when I think that
of ornimenting that hand would be as sily as gilting
refined gold or painting the lily. My high hopes and
lofty aspirations vanish and I work away to see how
quick I can make an Almighty Dollar I have caryed
a bone in my pocket ever since the Batle of Fredericksburg
intending to make Lois a ring when I got so that
I could make a fine one you know it would
be a prety fine job to satisfy her taste, I shal make
it soon if I have a chance I am going to make
one for Jame” by the way there is a petryfied
tree close by here and I am going to send him
a junk if I can
you talk as though we where fighting for the
negroes. Now this is a great mistake or at any
rate it would be a releaf to me to think I was
was here for the benefit of so good a thing
as a negrow Ambilishion is whats the mater evry body
wants to be king evry fool wants to be a great
man when he can only be a great fool. Now let us
se how this army is raised some one that has
sucseeded in geting into ofice by unprincipled
means and served the publick a few years untill
his name has become generly known puts in for
a comision as Gen or Conl” then to raise the men
he says to about 20 ex school masters or
some ex 3 months heroes you raise so many
men and you shal be Capt. to as
many more raise so many men and you shal be Lieutenant
[page 3]
and these will tell about evry one that
they enlist if they will use their influence
to get men they in return shal loose
nothing. the result is you have to cheat
some one and those that use evry maner
of means to cary their points get the Loaves
the promised Captaincyes must some become
Lieutenants and Lieu” sargents here is a
row in the beginning, Now you see what it is
to doe the duty of these men the drill and
manuvering of men can all be learned in
a month, thir they can do very well but
when you come to leave of playing the soldier and
come to grim visaged war” the men that
you have for oficers are the most unfit of
any clas of men” men that know nothing of
providing comforts for their men know nothing
of building roads and bridges or of hard
marches and finely totely unfit to be here
at all. Least week I was detailed to help repair
a road we had an ofiser to supruntend
he knew nothing about what aught to be
done but was rather a good felow and not
you all know how to fix roads as wel as I do
so go ahead and fix this pease, we braught
Brush and filled up the holes and did
improve the road a litle but in the
after noon we had another of a diferent stripe
I would say much about him only he set
us all shovling the mud out of the
road and making a complete ditch
of it then I wished for the shadow
of Josire Bodge to come out and Bos the job
[page 4]
Now with an army ofisered by such stock as this
what mater is it who is comander in cheaf
the whole thing is as worthles as a rope of sand
you wished to know how long we guarded that
Batery We went outo the field about noon and
there was fighting untill dark although
we fired only about 6 rounds before the
rebel infantry fel Back behind the hills
we lay upon the ground that night in the
same place where we faught the day before
the next day was sundy and there was not
much firing but we still ocupied the same
ground untill monday morning when we marched
of behind a hill and marched back again
to make the enemy beleave that we had
ben releaved by fresh troops here we
remained untill about 10 PM when
we was awoke and orderd to pack up as
quiertly as posible this order scared me more
than anything I had heard or seen for I was
sleeping soundly and it was given in a
way that made me beleave that all was
lost and we where on the retreat and
for a week afterwards I would jumt up
in the night and grab my napsack
but I never dreamed of wising shell or being
in a fight, there is many in this show that
write their own puffs but the 17 done nothing
to be ashamed of but I see nothing to brag of
as it simply done its duty speaking of Parkers
cap there is many as nay escape as that
and here it is thaught nothing of I believe I shed
the first Blud in our regiment and this was only about
a teaspun full from my fore finger that was cut about ¼
of an inch by the fragment of a shell, M.P. Larry

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