[1] 21st REGT. O. V. U. S. A.
Col. J. S. Norton
Co. E

Camp near athens ala
May the 29th 1862
Dear wife it is with mutch pleasure that
iagain take my pen in hand to inform
you that i am well at presant and hop
those fiew lines will find you all in
the Same State of health we hav moved
from huntsville to this place adistance
of 25 miles this is a county Seat but
not So large as huntsville nor So prety
a place it is on a railroad that runs to
nashville and intersects with the road
that runs threw huntsvile that is the
memphis and charleston it runs from
[page 2]
charleston South carolina to memphis
tennessee their is every prospect of a
Spedy peace ican ondly Say god grant
it that day would bee the happyest
period of my life when peace is made
and i Shall grasp your hand and
embrace you and the children and
know that i am free and can dwell
in peace with you then we can enJoy
our Selves and nothing but death
Shall Sepperate us again this countrey
arround here is not So nice as it is at
huntsville the people here are begining
to form a pretty good opinion of
the yankies they call us all yankies
they Say they wish that their relatives
ware at home they say that they
think the ohio boys are Jentleman
and at huntsville the citisins
Said that they hated to See us go away
the rebbles take anny thing that they
want that the people hav and
[pay?] nothing for it the Southern
[page 3]
Scrip is not good fornothing
here the people wont takeit
them Selves they know that it
aint good for nothing and the
rebble papers Say that their case
is gone and i dont See what they are
fighting for now the other day
their ware Seven cesesh Soldiers
came to our lines on their way
home and they Said that their
time was out and that the whole
regament would bee threw here in
a fiew days they ware from
corinth i havnot had a letter
from you for two months and
that is agood while to wait for
a letter from So dear a friend
my best earthly friend ohow i long
to See you and the children it is a
long time Since i Saw you and i
Suppose you think So to ididnot
think when i enlisted that we
would hav to Stay longer than
[page 4]
Six months and it is nine
months Since we we hav been
drawing pay their is three months
pay due us now i donot See the
resin that i dont get letters the
hicksville letters donot come threw
the farmer boys gets letters
the hicksville boys are all
well and in good spirets our camp
is within one fourth of a mile
of town ithaught last fall that
i Should bee at home in time
to make garden for you but it
Seams that could not bee you
must kiss the children for me
and tell them that pa Still
loves them tell them to bee
good children and mind their
ma imust quit my Scribbleing for
this time excuse poor righting and bad
spelling direct to Athens Ala
good by for this time from
L.B. Wort to S.G. Wort the one that is all