Middle Tennesse Manchester Coffey County
Desember 4 1862
My Derare beloved Wife
I take this oppertunity of Riting you
afew to inform you that I am Some
better then I have bin hoping that
these few lines may find
you all well & doing well I havent
Rote you but 2 letters cence I
came back from kentuckey fur
I have bin so bad off that I new it
wood be no Satisfaction to you &
I keep wating fur a letter from you I
drew my money & sent you fifty
dollars & drew onley 55 dollars I onley
Keep 5 dollars I had 25 owen
to me but the men that owed
it was left & dide in Kentuckey
I thought I could git part of it I would
Send it to you I got 10 dollars of it made
me 15 dollars & I thought that I could
make a littel by byen & Selling but
I was So pore that I could not walk nor
could not eat onley Some pies or some
thing that I could by & evrey thing
is So hye that if a man eat eny thing
it cast him a dollar it use to be that
25 cents would by enything but now
it takes 100 dollar I have borded my
[page 2]
self ever cence I came back my
money give out & I have borred Some
but I will have to eat what ever I can
git we doant draw one bit of Salt
nor nothing but beef & hoo can eat that
but I cant borry no more money if I git so
poore that I cant walk may be tha will
give me a discharge I have fatend up
lots but I have the cramp So of a nite
that I cant Sleep & I have Such pains in
my joints that I cant hardley walk
we left Station the 16 of Nov
& went to Bridge port in alabama in
sisty miles of Jacksonvill we Stade
thare 2 nites the yankeys had burnt
the bridges & we had to cross on a steam
boat & take the carse over in the boat
we then got on the carse & came
to Normandy Station in tennessee
we stade thare some time & then we
marcht to this place or close to this
place we have cleaned off us a place
to stay this winter we moved this
morning & Jest put up our tent we have
1 tent & 11 men in it thare is but
littel talk of furlows that is the
privets talk Rite Smart but the
offersers give them no Satisfaction tha
Say tha give furlows fur 10 days & I could
[page 3]
not git home & back in that time if
I cant git no longer time then that
I cant come fur if I was to Stay over
my time I would be punisht as a
dissurter & I have seen aneff of that to
Satisfey me I have got close aplenty
the ladys of Wilks county gave
me a nice Shirt & Slips & a paire of Socks
& a nice bed quilt I have got 3 coats 3
paire pants 3 Shirts 3 paire Slips 3
paire of Socks & 2 hevey bed quilts I
think that will do me this winter I have
baught me a good new paire of brown
[??] genes pants I want you to Sell your
Jenes onley what you want fur John
it is worth 5 dollars per yarde in
Atlanta you must live as Saving
as you can fur it is agoing to be hard
times & the poore is oblige to Suffer
I wish you had half of the beefe
we thow away fur we cant eat it
without Salt I got 2 letters from
you the other day witch gave me
grate satisfaction but it never
Stated whether you got your money
or not Sister Rote that they got it
but Rote like you left the day before
it come i want to no whither you
got eny Salt or not Mrs Kirkus said
that she got 22 lbs when you and her went
[page 4
to town but you never Said wither
you got eny or not & would like
to no if I doant git to come home
this winter [I] never will like my
offersers no more I have got the pretys
litel scillet & lid you ever saw that
I wanted to fetch home & a nice littel
ax fur you & John to cut with I give
3 dollars fur the ax to fetch it home
wither I ever do it or not give Mr
Polk my best Respects til him
that I became aquainted with Some
of his kin the other day in the 4th
Tennessee Regt one Leevy. L.. Polk his
Fathers is named Leevy he lives or lived
in Mississippi if Mr Polk has got a
brother by the name of Leevy he noes
it I think thare is 4 of the boys heare
one is Capt of Co (B) of the 4th
& one is a Seargent the other 2 I think
is privets that Sade tha new
Henry well tha Sade tha new the
famley but tha disscribed Henry
So I am prety cirtin tha have Saw
him tel him to Rite Somthing about it
one of them talks of coming with me if
i come home you must Rite once a
weake & I will do the Same Derect your
letters to Manchester Tennessee So
by for this time Rite Soon I dont
understand about the way Margret
is doing Kiss the children fur me tell them to
be good H. W. Robinson to Elisabeth Robinson