Bridge Port Alabama Dec 20 63

Dear Catharine I will write you
a few lines to let you know
that I am safe and sound yet
it has been a long time since
I have had the chance to write
to you and I know that you
have been very uneasy a bout
me but you will be glad to
hear that we are all safe and
well we left Memphis the 11
of October since then we have
Marched over eight hundred
miles over all kinds of roads
we was at Chatanuga the time
of the battle but our Brigade
was not engaged the first
and second Brigades in our
Division was in the battle and
lost very heavy our Brigade
supported Water Houses
first Mo Battery the
[page 2]
battery done good execution
on the rebs but they did not come
in range of our rifles our
Company was deploid as skir
mershers as we went up the hill
and drove the rebbels from there
post and staid on the skirmish
line all night the next mor
ning our Company was releived by
Company B and in a few min
uets the skirmershers was
ordered forward when the ball
opened in earnest Co B in our
Regt had two men slightly
wounded in the fight we
was on a high hill and could
see the troops as they advance
on the rebels works it was
a grand sight to look at but
but it was hard to see the
Brave men com back wounded
I helped to carry back the
wound of other Regts for ours
[page 3, Img 21-3]
was laying in there rifles pits
where the cannons threw there
shot and shell over them at
our Cannon Hooker drove the
rebs off of Lookout Mountains .24 and
Sherman engaged on the left of Mision
ary Ridge the 25 and faught
them untill two oclock when
when Thomas engaged them in
the center and cut through
there line after a hard fight
of nearly three ours the rebs
left in the night and I was glad
when I heard that they was
gone for our Briggade was order
ed to the front in the morning
as soon as it was found out that
they was gone the 11 & 14 & 15
army Corps was ordered after
them and soon came up with
there rear gard and engaged
them and taken a good
many Prisners we followed
[page 4]
for a bout thirty miles
fight there rear gard nearly
all the time untill they got to
Ringold gap where the made a
stand and faught a hard fight
but they was routed and
lost there artilery and there
fores scatered so bad that we
did not follow them any fur
ther we was in Georgia then
when we got riders to go to knox
ville tenn to help Burnsides
to whip long street we started
and got within sixteen mile
and heard that Burnsides had
whiped him and we was ordered
back to this place we have had
a hard march on short ration
and no tents for a bout a
month all we had to eat was
what we got through the coun
try we would send out a
Company and Press in a wagon
look on the <????>