Headquarters of
Staff No. 2
Murfreesboro Jan 11th/63
Dear folks
I recived yours of the
25th about ab hour ago &
will answer immediately
I wrote yesterday informing
you of our where abouts &
of my health & write to
day in answer to yours
of the 25th. It is nice
& warm as summers as
Ive been sunning around
all day in my shirt sleeves
The sun will set in a
few minutes & will set
right in the south as usual
It sets first where it pleases
in this country as rather
a fellow is turned round
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all the time. I am very
glad to hear from home
as I,ve recived no letters since
Christmas. I expect (you all) as
the nigger’s call it had good
times. Well maybe you think
we did’nt. We recived two barrel
of good things from Carthage
on Christmas day about 11ock
& the escort & Staff including
Gen. Stanley & aids had a grand
dinner & Major Lewis on who’s
farm we where encamped eat
with us & praised the Ladies
very much, he is of the Mex
ican was a very paticular friend
of Col Burdsalles. I,m sorry that
my box did not get through
And the next day we started
for the battle field & I must
say have been living at the
top [noch?] ever since as the
citizins run off & left their
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houses & everything behind them
& of course we helped ourselves
The Gen told some that was left
that they need not expect anything
when they come back as Abe’s
soldier liked to live & live we
have been except two or three
days of the fight. The houses
are all empty & the Gen allways
quarter in a house, one place
we stopped at near Tryune
we the Headquarter teams got
29 cans of peaches & tomatoes
sugar, coffee, dried apples, flour,
box of soda, dozen turkeys,
chickens &c &c & have been
living on nice buscut ever
since, in fact we always
have, light bread, of som kind
we have never drew but three
boxes of cracker since I,ve been
here, & they are sitting up
yonder on a log just as
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we got them. We drew bread
at Nashville all the time.
The rumor is now that the
rebs intend to make a stand
at Shelbyville which will not
do them any good I,ll bet
when they left this town they
took everything with them,
that they could carry & had
to drive regiment after regiment
out at the point of the bayonet
The Tennessee, ens say they will never
leave the state. Plenty of them
has come in & gave them selves up
& say that they are done fighting
W. Bowan & another in our company
where taken prisoners one died
with fever on this [rout?]. I wish
you to send me a pair of suspenders
with the other things.
I,ll remain yours &c
E.A. Peterson
We will be [fred?] off
on the 13th if we do
not move before E.A.P.