tullahoma ten march 26 1863
dear wife with pleasure I am pur
mit ted to drop you A fue more lins
to let you no that I Am tollerbill
well at presant hoping thas lins
my find you and the children
All well and All of my old friends
I hav Rote to you so mutch latley
that I hav not got mutch strang
or new to Rite to you A Bout times is
hard hear and will gro wors no dout
thair is no fiting As yet I yet Beleav
if we fite it will Be at or near Brig
poart I think the feds will try to
Cut us off at that point By the way
of hut vill Alabam we air well
forte fide hear tha never Can take
this place with Aout A turbill los to them
and I think tha air two smart for that
un les thair was more at stak than
wat is hear the country is two level
and well none By the feds I think to
ever at tack this place tho thase
thing is un none to mee thair is A fue
things I doo no and one is I want to see
you and the Children power ful Bad yes
John never thout he wood Be away from
his Bossom friend and sweet ons to stay
six or seven months out of the in joyments
of his famley it is hard un Just for
I dont Beleav thair ever was A man on
urth that lovd his wife and Children
any Bet ter than I doo you air my urthley in Joyment
[page 2]
yet I am deprivd of All this and watt
for did I deziar this to take place my
words and acks at home dont prov this
and when A Change taks place I will
Rite to you and then I want you to
Rite to mee to stay A way till I re
pent that you Beleav that I hav forgot
my firs lov and I had as soon Be
ded A onst as to git A let ter of
this kind the tree is non By its fruit
But as mr Burntts letter deziard mee
to Be Shelterd from the Balls of the enmey and
from dezears and soon Return to my fam
ley god hasen that happey time I Can
think of you All and pray for you All and
hop and trust the time will soon Cum
when I can cum home and see you All
and stay with you All the Rest of my stay
Starvacian is A pon us All at hom and
A Broad we onely draw half pound of
Bacan pur day and one pound of meal pur
day or A pound of pickeld Beef pur day
and A fue molasses and A little Rice not A
nuf to doo any good and ouer meal is
so coarse that we make grits out of A
part of ouer Rashings what is one pound
of Beef to A hartey man pur day and it
part Bone at that and A little Bred
or A haf pound of Bacan pur day it part
Bon I never hav grumbled nor I hav
never had any Rite to till hear lattley
and I think it will gro wors in Stid
of Better thair in dications for worse
[page 3]
tena I Am still waiting for Ray to
to git Back and then I Am Acumming
home if tha giv mee A fur low must
I say I will cum any how or not
if you say for mee to cum I Shal
Cum But I hav studied it All over
long A go I hav got my pegs set
tha tha hav bin shooing severil hear latley
for Runing A way But I think when
the woods thair will Be A many
A man go home thair is A time to
All things hear is this mutch I want
to doo the Best I can for my famley and
my self to stay hear at A leven dollars
A month you cant liv on that while
stuf is so hy well to Run A way and
go home and hav to lay out I Cant
help you to any thing to liv on that
seem to mee lik that will not doo I wood
Bee A draw Back in stid of A help to
you and the children well if caut up in
this kind of A fix while under old
Bragg he wood hav mee put to deth
well to stay hear and liv as I hav
to liv and Resk the conciquinces of life
and deth that is A hard for mee
But tena I wood giv my lif for
you in Any way if it Becums nessary I
hav thout I wood cum home any how
and I think I will Cum home any how
if you think we can meck out By
my doging A Baut to ceep out of
the way and ses so home I cum yes
[page 4]
I ant A frade But what I can git home
and then keep out of the way tell this
thing is setteld for it cant last
mutch longer this everri Bodey ort
to no that has got A spoon ful
of sence that is the Reasson that
I in Cisted so hard for Cum of the
Boys to Rite to mee that tha wanted
to Cum to this Reg mant so I
Cood git to Cum home after
them as Re Cruits I Cood git off
un der thas surcumstances and
A Braut Back stuf A nuf to make
A good deel of money and tha Cood
hav dun the sam I was in hops
this wood hav All turn out Rite
But I hav lost All hops on this
I send this By one mr mikel Stroup
to Elanders doctor Steevens has Rezind
and Starts home in the morning I sent you A
letter A fue day A go By Ed Claton
with ten dollars in it I mus Cum to
A close I Am vary Proud of my shirt
it tuck the pre and my slips
in fact All you sent mee tha fit
mee the Best kind Jest like tena
fits mee for A wife may gods
Blessings Rest A pon hur and my
dear little Children and keep them
from All harme tena I want
you to Rite to mee as soon as you
git this letter with out fail no more
at presant and Reckon you
think it is A nuf without Better
John W Reese to
C T V Reese
[the following is written in the top margins of pages one and four]
tena I sed I wood send this By one mr stroups But I will send it By doctor Stevens it seems like that we will los all of ouer old offficers well I dont Blame them I wood git out if I cood But I am A poor man and no Bodey to help mee out this is A Rich mans woar But the poor men has to doo the fiting tell the Boys if tha want to Cum hear and giv mee A Chance to cum home and tha dont like after tha git hear tha shal hav Company Back after A little stuf is sold I want you to not let long mouth folks no ever thing and keep my letters at home
[the following is written in the top margins of pages two and three]
But you sed thair was no Bodey thair to Cum But Ab and he thout he wood git off if he dont git off tollerbill Easy I think he wood doo well to git two or three in the nocian to Cum hear and Rite to mee and dont let any Bodey elce hav thair names if we was All to gether we Cood mak the thing work Jest Rite tha can git thair Bounty and what stuf we cood Bring with us to sell wood make us A nice pile of money then we Can doo as we pleas if we had druther Bee moutain Raingers as A hy Privet we can doo Jest as we like I must Close tell my frends if tha Rite to mee to direct letters in Cear of L. M. Ray in stid of Roberts