Cape Girardeau, Mo., February 14, 1862.
Sam arrived here to-night and brought me everything I could
wish for except my watch. Jem Harper from Company K is home on furlough and we
expect him now shortly, also Benton Spencer. If you could manage to send the
watch by one of them I would be much obliged. I cannot well get along without
one now. You seem to be very happy about my getting away from the Point. Rather
more so than I am myself. If I had stayed there I would have been with a fair
chance to fight — to fight soldiers. Here there are no forces to fight but a
few hundred bushwhackers that will lie by the roadside in the swamp, and I
believe they would murder Jesus Christ if they thought he was a Union man. We failed
in doing what we wanted to the last trip, but I believe we'll get even with
them yet. I'd hate mightily to get killed by such a pack of murderers, but that
isn't my business. If U. B. and father have experienced such trips as we have,
I'll bet I beat them in one thing — enjoying them. I always feel better out
that way than in camp. The 11th Missouri is still with us and the 17th has gone
to Tennessee. The colonel, Ross, picked out 50 or 60 of his most worthless men
and put them on the gunboats. There are some hopes that our regiment will be
ordered to Kentucky soon or to Wheaton, Mo., for there is a regiment of
Missourians here forming that will be sufficient to guard this vicinity. This
place if not entirely secession is very strongly southernly righteous. I am
getting acquainted with the female population slowly, not very, and one family
of three girls tell me they are positively the only unconditional Union women
in town. But the others show nothing of the cold shoulder to us. They are all
very friendly and sociable. Quite a number of beautiful girls here. The
aristocracy here are all Catholic. Funny, isn't it? Frenchy.
SOURCE: Charles Wright Wills, Army Life of an
Illinois Soldier, p. 61-2
No comments:
Post a Comment