East Tenn Claborn County
Near Cumberland gap Aug 29 – 62

Dear wife I take this opper
tunety of Riting you afew lines to
inform you that I am giting on
prety well with my mumps
tha doant hirt me much yet
truly hoping that these lines may
Come Safe to hand & find you in
good helth we are Still
hear & the pickets Still fites a
littel we have got them hemd I
think but I doant no how long
tha can live tha throw Some
34 pounders at us but tha have
never have hurt us with them
tha have never kild non of us
cence we bin heare but tha
wound one every day nearley &
then the next day tha come
with a flag of truce ahunting
ther dead we kil more or less
of them ever day I have had good
luck & bad both cence I came
heare I found Some yankey
guns & the genril gave me one
& told me to fix him one & I
dun So & tha Call them
[page 2]
English Carbean it loades in
the brich I thought I would keep
it all ways but it would not be
eny Sirves to me onley to look
at & fur my children to keep
& Say that I got a yankey gun
in the ware & that would be
no advantage to the ga Railroad
I have bin offerd 25 dollars for it
I think that I can git 35 for it
& that will do you more good
then the gun will me if the
yankeys gits it back or if I was
to git kild the gun would be
gon I also found a yankey
Pistol a Repeter with 5 barrels
& 10 tubes it Shot 10 times it
Shot twice out of one barrel
but the Stock was gon & one
main Spring I could a fixt it
up but I was offerd 10 dollars
fur it & fool like took it & the
next day I was offerd 25 fur
it So I am allways too Soon
or too late I have got 25
dollars in 5 dollar bills So
I can Send 5 at a time I wish
tha was all thare I doant no
when we will draw our draw day is
[page 3]
past I would Sent you some
money before now but I was
afraid you would never git
it & I thought I would get to come
home Some time or Some body
els but now I am going to Send
it if it dos git lost I will have
to keep more money then I aught
to keep fur tobacco is one dollar
a pluge & not good at that but
I have to have it if I git 35 fur
my gun that will be 60 dollars
you will have if it gits thar &
when I draw I will Send you 10 or
15 dollars of that will make you 70
or 75 dollars & you must lay in
corn from the heap or as soon
as you can git it anuff to do
you next yeare but doant let
it be none [1] that you have got
much or tha mite Rob you tha
Steel hear for fun one of my
Smithes lost 25 dollars last nite
but tha neve have tride me
I Recon that John was mad when
he did not find his Ring in the
other letter I Sent you a letter
the other weak & Sent a card
of hooks & eyes & 3 kneedles & Sade
[page 4]
that I would Send John a Ring
that I made out of 5 Cents So
I no it is pure silver & I fur
got to put the Ring in the
letter & I was sorrey of it you
Say you Rite evey weak I onley
git a letter ever month you
may look for 1 2 or 3 letters every
mail til I git all my money
Sent & all my other thinges
I wont Send the ballance of
them hooks & eyes til I Send all
my money home I am doing very
well cence I went to the Shop I
git plenty to eat & sleep in the
Shop I Sold 10 lbs of flower to
day fur 75 cts & that is cheaper
then you can git it thare flower
is worth 15 cts heare but I
let my old mess have that give
my Respects to all but keep the
best your Self Margret I doant
want you to git marred til I come
home So I can be at the wedding
but I hope you wont have a coward
& tha ant no other sort thare but them
that ant abel to do famley duty Rite
Son H W Robinson to Elisabeth
Robinson & all the Rest