38th Illinois Infantry

Item LTR-6682

Description

Original Civil War soldier's letter. 2 pages written in period ink.

Pilot Knob
February 16th 1862

Dear Grandfather and Grandmother,

It is with pleasure that I sit down to answer your letter which I just received and was glad to hear that you were all well. And I am also glad to say that I am well at present and I hope these few lines may come safe to your hands and find you in good health. I have nothing of any importance to write to you at present. Any more than the boys is all well except S. S. Cox. He is in the hospital very sick. He has something like the lung fever. But I am in hopes he will get along. Your note about our troops on taking Fort Henry. We hear all the news as soon as they do the work is done. We get the news as a dispatch. A dispatch this morning that our men had taken Fort Donaldson and fifteen thousand prisoners. I don’t know how true it is. But I hope it is so anyhow and the dispatch came yesterday that Old Price was routed from Springfield and if it is all so I think we have got them by the heels and we can hold them like nothing. I don’t think it will take us more than two or three months longer to take the whole pile of them. For I think they are a getting sick of their bargain. If they aren’t now, they will be against when they get hooked up two or three times more. I guess that we will leave here in a few days. We have got orders to be ready to march at any call. I think we will go down about Pocahontas in Arkansas to cut off Old Price’s retreat and to route old Jeff. Well I believe that I have written about all that is worth writing. Tell Tom that I am much obliged to him for writing to me. I would like to be there to the spelling school. I believe I can beat them all at spelling. Tom, I want you to get my slate and arithmetic and copy book from the school house if nobody has got them and keep them until I come back. And I will do as much for him sometime. I can’t help it and get big Cogdel’s slate from Uncle Matthews and give it to her. I borrowed it and forgot to take it home. Well, Tom, I will bring my letter to a close by saying that I want you to write as soon as this comes to hand. And tell all the boys to write. So goodbye for this time.

To: W. A. and Susan Langston and Tom Langston

Wm. B. Davis