Camp Dennison Feb. 10th 1862
Affectionate Wife
I received your letters and would have
written yesterday but I was on guard and
was relieved this morning at eight oclock got
my breakfast about nine and then Pick and
I went down to the station too see about
that box of things but it was not there. you
ought to have writen in whose name you was
going too send it and whether by express or
as freight we may get it yet but it is doubt-
-full. The third Cavaldry left this morning for
Kansas there is about 1200 of them in the
Regiment they made a prosesion about a
mile long. they will see some hard times before
they get through for they have not received
any pay since they enlisted (about five months)
and what money they had with them when
they came in to camp has leaked out long
ago for a soldier money does not stay with him
long and when a regiment starts on as long
a journey as they are goin on without money they
must suffer this I know by our trip down
here onley three hundred miles and a hungry
set of boyes you never saw than we was when
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we arrived in this damed mud hole the boyes was
beggin even for a chew of tobacco as they passed
along this morning. Also one battery of
artillery left this morning for Kansas And
in fact all the troops are leaving here for the
field of action but the Bloody Sixtand we
are left here to stink. it is a shame to keep us
here at an expense to the government. of about one
thousand dollars a day and doing no good
this railraod passing through here has been charterd
by the United States for six dayes and in that
time there is to be fifty thousand men passed
over it in to the Southern states probley most
of them in to Kentucky when we got the news
of the capture of fort Henry you can bet there
was some big cheering as well as some swareing
because we cant have a chance in for the want
of some arms to fight with Yesterday
there was twenty car loads of soldiers went
by here and last night about one oclock there
was twenty two more passed on to .. Dixie land..
we have got some men in our company that
cary a “body guard”with them if we do not get [lice written above “body guard”]
some horses before long we intend to select
some of the largest and break them to ride
I think they will answer for that better than
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than to have them eating us for if we take them
for horses we will draw forage for them They
have got them in the hospital too and god knows
it was bad enough there before one of our
Regiment died in the hospital last week and
those that were there too take care of him sat
by his bed playing eucher while he was dying
this is a sample of the respect and care a
sick man gets in a hospital Pick was on duty in
the hospital yesterday he say when they get him
there again it will be when he is dead for he
will never go there alive We have three men
sick now but we keep them out of the hospital
and we have done so with all our boys except
one and he had the lung fever he is able to be
around now we have had som very sick boys
with the measles and if they had went too
hospital they would have been in hell before
this Our Captain gets the prais of being the
best in the Regiment and Captain Criar
the meanest man and from what I have
heard the boys of his company say as shure
as they get in a battle they will shute him
and it will be a small loss if they do. I think
if we would drill down into the earth here
about two hundred feet we would get
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a flowing oil well from the amount of gas
there is above ground there was a good deal
in Mecca and Pennsylvany but this camp
beats them all you can lay those account
that you get from Cal and Riley to gas
there is a dozen different story here every
day. as I have never said any thing in reference
to the destiny of this Regiment I will now
give you my opinion on the subject although
I may not be wright. I thing we will be divided
and not go as a Regiment but a company or
two taken to patch up others that have been
killed off so we will be scattered all over
Seceshdome this is my opinion after waying
the thing in my mind for the last four weeks
I saw Porter Barns this morning he is on
guard to day he has got a very bad cold he can
hardly speak loud, and then it is hard to understand
him. We wer called out for inspection yesterday
just as we had commenced our supper we
had to leave it and fall into line, and it was
about an hour before we got in again and then
every thing was coald of course we have had
potatoes three times since we came here
the swareing was not loud but deep when we
wer called out yesterday I feel
like a fiteing cock to day Dian please let Vie and
Jeff & tom read this as I do not get time to write
a separate letter to you all but I want them all to write
to me the fowler boys are well Diana Bine Bine Vie Jeff & Tom