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to Nancy E. Jones

The men of the 20th are by "far mutch the hardest men that I have ever bin with" but they treat him like a gentleman. They no longer expect a fight and he has no doubt "but that our forces have gained a complete victory at fredricksberg."

GLC02739.049

to Nancy E. Jones

"I feel as mutch assured that I will git home alive as mutch as I feel assured that this war will end in the distruction of the southern confederacy." He believes that they will soon have Vicksburg and hopes to move to Fort Donelson soon.

GLC02739.050

to Nancy E. Jones

He thinks the war may end soon but wouldn't be surprised if it lasted a year or two more. Their latest news from Grant is favorable. He will rejoin Company F of the 79th.

GLC02739.051

to Nancy E. Jones

They drove 40,000 Confederates towards Chattanooga and several corps are advancing behind them. Some Confederates say "they want to quit fighting that they have bin deceived long enough by the leaders of the south." He fears the letter will not...

GLC02739.052

to Nancy E. Jones

He has terrible pain in his head and had a tooth removed. He is still with the battery but will be with the regiment soon. "A man cannot git a discharge here until he is four days dead if he wanted it ever so bad."

GLC02739.053

to Nancy E. Jones

He expects the Union to take Vicksburg soon. He must sneak out to prayer meetings in town every night and could be punished if caught.

GLC02739.054

to Nancy E. Jones

He is still with the battery. Mr. Shorter will hand deliver the letter and tell her more in person.

GLC02739.055

to Nancy E. Jones

He has a shelter or dog tent which he stretches out on sticks to cover about five feet of ground. He fashioned a bedstead from an old stable door and uses his oil blanket and dress coat as bedclothes and his knapsack as a pillow. It would be worth...

GLC02739.056

to Nancy E. Jones

They have been marching and fighting and drove the Confederates from the mountains and through Liberty Gap. Moving and placing the cannons in the mountains is difficult and the rain makes it more so.

GLC02739.057

to Nancy E. Jones

The Confederates are retreating towards Chattanooga. The road is so muddy that they can barely get through. The 79th of Illinois and 77th of Pennsylvania defeated nine Confederate regiments. "The rebs having al advantages in the mountains we have...

GLC02739.058

to Nancy E. Jones

He believes "Morgan the [guerilla chief] is neer his last end." The whole army is working well together toward a quick end to the war. The Union has control of Port Hudson and Bragg has left Tennessee. "His Armey is very mutch Reduced" and...

GLC02739.060

to Nancy E. Jones

He received the children's likenesses. She should not write to the captain asking for a furlough. He believes he has fought his last battle; "this armey may have a hard battle yet with brag but I don't expect to be in the engagement."

GLC02739.061

to Nancy E. Jones

He encourages her to go to Indiana with the children and Phebe Jane Walker. He is sending her 21 dollars inside a book of his writings with Lieutenant Williams.

GLC02739.062

to Nancy E. Jones

He has the opportunity to change his terms of service by being mustered out and then sworn in again but awaits her opinion. The new terms would offer him a furlough and a change in pay and length of service.

GLC02739.063

to Nancy E. Jones

Mentions that he has atteneded prayer meetings led by Black church members. Refers to the educational disaparity between Black and White children. Writes, "if they had the schooling and chance that we have they could take care of their selves and be...

GLC02739.064

to Nancy E. Jones

He describes the march from Tullahoma, Tennessee through the mountains. They may follow Bragg to Georgia.

GLC02739.065

to Nancy E. Jones

The Union has captured Chattanooga and he heard that Charleston was taken. Their picket line is near the river and the Confederates are on the other side. The Confederates know "more about retreat than anything else." There are rumors that the...

GLC02739.066

to Nancy Ellen Jones

Jones, a Civil War soldier, replies to a letter from his wife. Expresses joy that Nancy spends time with Brother Millis, possibly a pastor. Traveled the previous day from Bellefont to Stevenson, Alabama. States that divisions led by Generals...

GLC02739.067

to Nancy E. Jones

He expects to move to Georgia and fight Bragg. He will look for her cousin in the army.

GLC02739.068

to Nancy E. Jones

They are camped between the Sandy and Lookout mountains. The men "almost melt in the day time and freeze stiff at night." He dreamt that they took all of Bragg's men prisoner. Includes note to Phebe Jane Jones.

GLC02739.069

to Nancy E. Jones

Expectations of battle; taking Chattanooga with the loss of only one man; close proximity to the Confederates; wounding of Cornelius Hanvy.
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GLC02739.070

to Elizabeth Jones

5,000 troops marched with six pieces of cannon to find the Confederates. He tries to convey what it is like to be in a soldiers' camp; "I could lay down in sight of the rebels and go to sleep without any feer." Their course is towards Mumfordsville...

GLC02739.071

to Nancy E. Jones

They defeated Bragg, Johnson, and the Richmond army even though they were outnumbered five to one. They fell back here to fortify as the Confederates are planning to attack. He calls Stones River a skirmish in comparison with this battle. He has...

GLC02739.072

to Nancy E. Jones

The fighting has subsided but they are often shot at on picket. He "would not give what I have lernt and seen since I have bin in the armey for ten thousand dollars."

GLC02739.073

General Orders No. 227.

General Rosecrans congratulates the Army of the Cumberland and lists its accomplishments.

GLC02739.074

to Nancy E. Jones

He has kept an account of their movements and battles. He summarizes the hardships he has endured so far.

GLC02739.075

to Nancy E. Jones

The mail has stopped. The Confederates are only a mile away and they can see them through a telescope. They have not attacked since 20 September, the Battle of Chickamauga. He describes Lookout Mountain.

GLC02739.076

to Nancy E. Jones

They are so close to the Confederates that they can "talk to them" but neither side is allowed to shoot. Three companies of Confederates gave themselves up and more do every day.

GLC02739.077

to Nancy E. Jones

He encourages her to go live with Brother Millis and to read often. If he had known what soldiering would be like, he wouldn't have thought any man could stand it.

GLC02739.078

to Nancy E. Jones

He expects the railroad to be opened all the way soon. They moved from Johnston's division to Sheridan's and from the 20th army corps to the 4th. He will send Rosecrans' congratulatory General Orders No. 227 in his next letter.

GLC02739.079

to Nancy E. Jones

His regiment is still under Colonel Buckner. They began with 965 men of which 584 remain, 130 of which are still in the regiment. He expects the regiments to be consolidated as they are too small to hold their position alone. His regiment is...

GLC02739.080

to Nancy E. Jones

General Hooker is fighting the Confederates on the right wing. She should make him two shirts and send them and a needle and pins if possible. He encloses General Rosencrans' congratulatory Orders No. 227.

GLC02739.081

to Nancy E. Jones

Severely limited rations and for six weeks and "roten hard bread with worms in it." With enclosed excerpts from The Christian Psalmist.

GLC02739.082

to Nancy E. Jones

He is glad she and the children are staying with Brother Millis. Most of the men left to reinforce the right wing, which has been engaged in heavy fighting. They must stretch one meal over two days but are in good spirits.

GLC02739.083

to Nancy E. Jones

"It is nothing to a soldier to here of the death of a friend or comrade for he has enough of such…that he cannot mourn for the dead." He describes the Battle of Chickamauga: "For two long days we fought the brave men of longstreets corps from...

GLC02739.084

to Nancy E. Jones

General Thomas replaced General Rosecrans "on the account of Brag driving him back" to Chattanooga where Grant is now in command. He heard that Hooker defeated Bragg. They have not encountered Price since he left or Marmaduke since he attacked a...

GLC02739.085

to Nancy E. Jones

The Confederates had an internal battle on October 28: "One brigad[e] of them was determined to quit them and ground arms and come to our lines and they was silenced by their trusty troops which terminated in three hours fight killing eight hundred...

GLC02739.086

to Nancy E. Jones

The Confederates have been fighting internally since the Battle of Chickamauga; "I believe they will disband completely." Cornelius Hanvy has recovered. He requests cotton shirts to keep away the army lice. She may exchange the money he sends for...

GLC02739.087

to Nancy E. Jones [incomplete]

They attacked two days ago and their right wing took Lookout Mountain while the left wing held its position. Yesterday the left wing drove the Confederates from Missionary Ridge, reaching Chickamauga creek this morning. They could not push them...

GLC02739.088

to Nancy E. Jones [incomplete]

From her letter he believes that the Copperheads there "must be equally as Mean as those about Paris in Edger County."

GLC02739.089

to Nancy E. Jones

His corps captured 30 cannon and 3,000 prisoners in the battle for Missionary Ridge. His division returned to Chattanooga and is headed now for Knoxville. Burnside has been successful.

GLC02739.090

to Nancy E. Jones

They are running a grist mill and shipping meal and flour to Knoxville. The rest of the regiment is at Knoxville with the 22nd Illinois. Burnside drove the Confederates "from in front of him with heavy los[s] on the part of the rebles." Longstreet...

GLC02739.091

to Nancy E. Jones

The mail has not been running since they left Chattanooga.

GLC02739.092

to Nancy E. Jones

His regiment is running a mill and sending flour up to London. The army is weaker because of veterans going home but if the Confederates don't attack for three months "our armey will be strong enough to wipe them out." He'd hoped to come home as a...

GLC02739.094

to Nancy E. Jones

He just received the needle and pins he asked for and is very grateful. He expects to lose most of his teeth while he is in the army. He, Colonel Buckner, and another man formed a religious group and made resolutions on New Year's Day.

GLC02739.095

to Nancy E. Jones

They fought at Dandridge and then crossed the French Broad River. After struggling to cross a partially frozen stream, they were ordered to cross back again. He advises her on how to manage their farm.

GLC02739.096

to Nancy E. Jones

Were he home, he would teach Phebe Jane himself instead of sending her to school. There was another battle near Chattanooga.

GLC02739.097

to Nancy E. Jones

"It is not uncomen for me to weep over my deer little family."

GLC02739.098

to Nancy E. Jones

His infected thumb makes it difficult to write.

GLC02739.099

to Nancy E. Jones

The railroad has been repaired from Chattanooga to Knoxville and they will soon prepare for the spring campaign.

GLC02739.100