46th Ohio Infantry

Item LTR-8630

Description

Original Civil War soldier's letter. 3 pages, written in period ink.


Fort Baker
Bowling Green, KY
April the 9th 1864

Dear Mary,

Yours of the 28th is at hand. It was received and read with great blessing and satisfaction. I like to hear from my young friends at home and as often as you write you may be assured that I will respond and that fortunately yours found me enjoying good health and this leaves me enjoying the same blessing and I hope this may find you all the same. You say that you would like to see me. Well I’ll send you my photo so you can see how I look down here. I think that Will Moore only said that nobody cares for the soldiers, just to give you a hint and you had ought to tell him that you care for him and I think he would have been better pleased.

I suppose some of the boys that belong to the independent camp are merely scared to death such as Sam Dilbert and Whittens boys. Well I hope they will make all such fellows as them go and do something for their country. I think you must have had good luck making sugar and molasses this spring. I wish I had a canteen full of your molasses. Our grub has been rather hard this winter. We get fat sows belly and bread and coffee for breakfast and beans and bread for dinner and coffee for supper.

You say that you have got some sugar and you would give me some to eat when I come home if I would tell you some good soldier to write to. Well I don’t know any very nice young men here that you are acquainted with but there is some very nice young men here and I will get them to write to you. Well Mary save some of the sugar for me for I am coming home on a furlough some of these days. My furlough has been sent off to headquarters and I think it will be back in a week or two. Tell your grandmother that I have never received any of the messages yet. We have had some very nice weather here this spring till within a few days it has been raining. It is raining just now and I am glad that I am not on duty tonight but tomorrow night. I shall have to go on picket but I have a tent to stay in only when I have the pickets.

Well supper is ready and I will bring my scribbling to a close.


Give my love to your grandmother and tell her that I have my health better than I have had it over two years. Give my love to your mother and father also and accept a portion for yourself. So no more at present. Hoping to hear from you soon.

Sergeant John H. Ries
Mary Barkdull