camp cumberlan  March the 29  62
Dear Wife
  I seat my self this Saturday eavning to let you no that I am well and and harty  
I recieved your kind letter last nite dated March the 21 and was glad to hear 
that you was all well and also one from J W Ellis  it is a great Sadisfaction to 
me to letters from home  Now the reason I commence riting this eavning is we 
have so much to do here  it takes 2 or 3 Days to rite a letter  when we are not 
drilling thare is somthing elce to do  I thought I would commence and get it rote 
against monday  I cant rite much this eavning for I will have to wash some this 
eavning  Now I would just say we have moved Back on the north side of the 
cumberlan river  we are camped in the river botom on the best farm that is in 
the county and we have burned all the rails on both sides of the river  it is a 
cecesh farm and he is gon  tha say he was killed a few days ago  no I cant tell 
how long we will stay here  it is supposed we will stay here some time  we 
wont attact the gap till we get more force  it is supposed the rebels will leave 
the gap  thare has several left the gap and come down here and joined our 
armey  one came yesterday and 3 today  tha say the mississippi Reg has left 
the gap and gone home  tha say thare is about 3 thousand rebels at the gap 
that is fit for duty  Now Rachel I rote you a letter last tuesday and gave you 
a history of a campaign that we look up to the gap and how clost the canon 
balls come to me  I also sent you a dollar Bill in it  now I hope you will get 
that letter  if you dont get it rite and and let me no  Now I have ben down to 
the River washing my cloths  I thought of you once while I was washing  I have 
come back and put on some beaf  to cook and BB Decker has made us a table  
to eat off of   we have plenty to eat here  we have beans and you no I can make 
a hand eating them  we make supe sometimes  it is a little Bad eating it through 
our mustashes  we use guns here in place of razors  Now Rachel I rote you a few 
lines at Barberville as I came up here and sent you 6 stamps  I hope you got it  
Now I am siting out on the wood pile riting and it is getting dark and will soon be 
roal call  I must quit tile morning  good nite Rachel   I take my pen in hand this holy 
Sabath morning to finish my letter  I am well this morning and hope you are all 
enjoying the same blesing  my health has been better now for some time than it 
has ben for five years  I am nearley as fat as R M Davis and I feel verry thankful 
to god for his mercies to me  Several of our Boys is laid up  some our trip up to 
the gap but it hasent hurt me yet  it is a wonder that it hasent laid up more men 
than what it has  Now if you did not get my last letter this will seam awkward to 
you for I rote in that about us going up to the gap  Now Rachel our 
Second lieutenant Elizah Penic has got something like the consumtion and is talking 
of going home in a short time and I am going to to send you ten Dollars by him  he 
lives in 4 miles of the french lick  when you hear of him getting home you can send 
and get your money  I will a letter by him to you and he can send it from West Baden 
to you and then you can go after your money  Now Rachel you stated in your letter 
that you would give any thing in the world to have me Back home  Well I would like 
to be at home and it would the gratest Sadisfaction to me in the world to see you and 
the children  I wont to see my old neighbors and class mates but not half like my own 
famley and I will come home as soon as the war is over  this is as soon I can promise 
you  we are in to it now and we must fight our way through  I had the blews rite 
smart wen I was sick but Sence I got well and got with my Reg I pass the time off fine  
I have an implicit trust in god  he has brought me through another drearry winter through 
all the exposures of camp life and I feel that the same god is able to protect me in the day 
of battle  now if I have not enjoyed religion here I dont no what it is  I have ben encouraged 
in many of your letters to hear of you praying in our little famley  I hope you will keep it 
up during my absence  I try to pray morning and eavning  BB Decker and me often goes 
down to the river Bank after dark and communs with god in secret  thare is a geat eal of 
wickedness here and lots of swearing  it seams to me if I had ben in the habit of swearing 
I would quit it  Now I can inform you that we have fine weather here now I would like to 
be at home this butiful sabath morning to go to meeting with you but in stead of that I will 
have to go to inspection of arms at 9 oclock  I guess Brther Maple(1) will prech for us this 
eavning  now the most we can hear here is the sound of the drum and the crack of the gun 
and the order of the officers  we have to be subject to those that have the rule over us  
I tell you private life would be verry exceptable with the Solgier  Now Rachel tell 
Mr Ellis I was much gratified to get a letter from him  tell him to rite to me again  tell him 
I would answer his letter now but I have a bad chance to rite  tell him Wessley Ellis(2) is 
well  tell father Mack and Elvin if tha will rite to me a letter I will answer it if I can think 
of anything that I think will interest them  tell Billey I have Swaped off his barlow and 
got a nice two bladed knife  tell him if he will make granpap rite to me I will send him 
5 cents in a letter  Now Rachel I beleve I have rote all tha is necessary at this time for 
I will rite again in a week if I can  I hope you will do the same  you mail your letters on 
firday and I get them the next friday  Now Dear companion remember your unworthy 
husban 
 your truly
 D S to Rachel Morgan
   
NB  A few lines to Ellie and Mary  dear Brother and sister  I hope this will find you all 
well and and doing  Now Ellie I was glad to hear that you had some oats sowed  I hope 
you will get along well with your work  I hope the lord will give you health and strength to
 perform your duties  Now Ellie you said in your letter that it was rote bad but I was a
 better schollar than you and I could read it well  some of it put me to all I nowed to read 
it  you must not string it out so  rite soon  Direct your letter to camp cumberlan Ky  
49 Reg ind volunteers in care of captain Ritter  farewell for the present 

		D S Morgan to Ellie kerns and famley


* as always, I do not correct the spelling or change the text.
(1) Probably Sgt. William Maple, Company G
(2) Perhaps James W. Ellis, Company A.