n. 



Camp on L amine E 

 Dec 12th 1861 

 Dear Brother & Family 



T am asrain seated in my tent to answer yonr letter which 

 I received this mom. Yon state that when I wrote last 

 I was in Syracuse, we left Sprin,e:field on the 9th of Nov 

 and arrived in Syracuse on the eve of the 17th that was on 

 our retreat from Springfield. We marched 140 miles in 

 nine days some days marching as high as twenty two 

 miles and others marching- only eight but we marched 

 every day The boys going out to Springfield stood the 

 trip very well although every day there would be hun- 

 dreds lying by the wayside waiting for the teams to come 

 up and haul them. Some were actually sick others were 

 footworn & others acting possum, while others with bet- 

 ter pluck would pull of their shoes and take it barefoot 

 over the rocks Charley Waggener & Joe Beaver both took 

 it barefoot for several days going out, their feet were 

 blistered and they had too much spunk to ride and several 

 others of my company that you know not. As for our 

 force march I consider it rather a mismanagement by our 

 superiors. We were encamped in Humanville when we 

 received oders to prepare one days Rations for a force 

 march we received this order at about sundown but the 

 cooks soon had the Rations in the haversacks in good con- 

 dition at about Eight Clock P M we wer in line ready 

 for our trip we had all of our wagons loaded and they 

 were also in line, and all that you could see of our camp 

 was the brilliant fires that were burning all through camp 

 which the cooks had just left. It was rather a dark night 

 on the 1st of Nov that I speak of. At the command of our 

 gallant young Col we all were on our onward march to 

 a bloody seen as we then ex]jected for we heard that Price 

 was within almost hailing distance of Springfield and 

 Fremonts picketts. We marched that night untill near 

 one Clock A M when we were halted on a large stream 

 on the prarie A\ath but very little wood there I rolled my- 

 self up in some Blankets but as it was a verry cold night 

 I only slept a sliort time when I was awakened by cold 

 then I got up and went to a fire near by and found several 



