Elisha Marion Handby Letter#3

July 8th, 1865 Camp near Louisville KY
Dear Parrents,
 I seat myself this beautiful Saturday morning to answer your kind and affectionate letters 
which came to hand yesterday, I was glad to hear that you were all well, I expected that Father 
was down again with a pain in his back like he was sometime past; but oh how glad I was when I 
heard different,   I hope that you all may still keep your health and take the world as easy as
you can without me for a few more days, and then I think I will be at home to share or enjoy its
pleasures as well as its sorrow with you.
You stated in your letter that Williams had returned home but didn’t say whether little Frank 
Mercer had or not.
  Our muster rolls are here at headquarters and as soon as they are made out and signed we will
be sent to Indianapolis where we will receive our final settlement, which I think will be done 
within two weeks at the furthest   some regiments here have theirs made out and will be ready to
start home by the first of the week but the leading officers of this regiment haven’t got over
their fourth of July yet and don’t want to leave as long as they can hold an office, they don’t 
care no more for the men than they would a dog but as old general Sherman say we will be as good 
as they are when we are mustered out
the general was here on the fourth and gave us a few words of advice    he is a common an old 
man as ever you seen   he knows about what’s right too
 I received a letter from Van Kirk yesterday and he stated that all the boys had got back home
but Bill Wallace he had to stay six months yet for desertion he said that Dick Kendall was 
stepping around their [sic] as independent as a hog on ice and old Pomfrey [?] Smash had another
finger off
Milt Stevens was a partner of John Wartens they are keeping store in the old kyger corner
 he said that bill Kendall was talking of going to Cambridge   start a saloon & he said the 
service had made a man of Wils Morton he said he had cooled down considerble.
Father you stated in your letter that I never said nothing about John Braden that is true I
never thought of him when I was writing the reason of that was this that I don’t mess