47th Indiana Infantry

Item LTR-616

Description

3 pages, original Civil War Union letter written in period ink and war dated.

Camp Tipton
Tiptonville, Tennessee

May 11th 1862

Dear Father,

It is with pleasure that I seat myself this afternoon to write you a few lines. I wrote to Mother yesterday but for fear it will be miscarried, I thought I would write you a few lines.

I am well and hearty again, but I have had a pretty hard time of it since I came from the Furnace. Nearly all the boys that were there have been sick since they have come back. Jim Frame had the lung fever but is so he can walk around again.

You say you think there will not be more than one more battle of any magnitude fought in the west. But you think it will take McClellan some time to subdue the rebels in Virginia. I think the way he is doing things up now it will not take him long to finish the job in that section of the country. We heard yesterday that he had whipped them at Williamsburg and was in hot pursuit of the rebels who are retreating towards Richmond. I don’t think it will be long before the rebels will be cleaned out of Virginia.

I think the most of the work that is to be done now lies in the extreme south. The report is that they are evacuating Fort Pillow and falling back on Fort Randolph.

Oh yes! I almost forgot to tell you Cyrus Williams is in the hospital here sick with the typhoid fever. He is crazy all the time.

Oh yes! I want you to send me the Wabash paper weekly. Nothing does me more good than to get to read a Wabash paper because it is right from home. I will pay you for your trouble sending it. I want you to send it every week.

I am going to send this by Henry Comstock. He will drop it in the post office at Manchester. No more at present.

John Wallace

Yours affectionately,

John Wallace

Direct your letter as before.