 Iowa In the Civil War |
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Camp Kirkwood Clinton, Aug. 31/62 My Dear Wife: I received your letter last night by the hands of Bill Sawyer and it gives me great pleasure to peruse its pages. I hope you will write often and I have good reasons to believe you will. I would like to have you write every day if you could but I know very well that you cannot and I will not ask it of you but you must try and write as often as once a week if you can. The two weeks I have been here has passed very quick but it seems a long time since I left home. You must enjoy yourself as well as you can, go avisiting and make the neighbors and friends your companions untill I return. I shall in all probability be at home in the spring and Sarah you may expect me to come back with an untarnished character. I shall attend to my, duties while I am here and try to keep good company. A person can associate with any kind of company he chooses here. I know of married men here (that have families at home) that associate constantly with women of ill fame. They will come in here in the day time and hang around to entice the soldiers away but no man that is a man will notice them. I do not know of but one man in our company that has anything to do with such creatures. You want my opinion as to your going to Iowa City. I think you had better go by all means and take a good long visit if you can. I want you to do every thing you can to make yourself contented and pass off the time. I am satisfied that the time will seem longer to you than to me for I have any amount of company (such as it is) and I cannot find any fault for we have got a first rate set of boys. We are all one as you might say. We all agree first rate. There is not so much quarreling in this whole company as their is in some families that you are acquainted with. Sarah do not allow yourself to think that we have parted to not see each other again. I will not allow any such and idea to come into my head end I really wish you would not. It is true thane if we are engaged in a battle that some body will be killed and some will die of disease, but if we are amind to take care of ourselves, we are no more likely to be sick in camp than at home. If we are careful careful what we east and drink I have not doubt that we can preserve our health; but if a person has a mind to but everything that is brought into camp by boys such as pies and cakes and green apples and in fact everything that is injurious to health is brought in here and a great portion of the boys are foolish enough to spend their money for such things and they have to suffer for their folly. It is sure to bring on the diarrhea when by eating their regular rations (which is enough and good enough) they might be well. I think this would suit Steve Berry for we do not have enough to do to shake the dust off of us. I expect Steve trembles in His ??????? with fear of being drafted but next Wednesday will tell the story and Sarah them that has to go will not enjoy themselves nor neither will they be as safe as we are for they will have to go to fill up old Regiments that are now on or near the battlefield. They can have no choice of officers as we do. There is five companies in this Regiment from Linn County and five from Scott County. It is reported that we shall leave here the last of next week but it is uncertain when. Allen Ford came here last night with Bill Sawyer. I shall send this letter by him and a picture if I can get one to suit me. I am very much pleased with you and the babies. It is a great consolation to me to look at them but I want the babies taken as soon as you can have it. I think I shall have one taken from the one you sent me and send it back to You again. If Andrews is agoing to put wheat in the house you had better not go there to clean it because it would not be your place to clean up his dirt. I have written to the bottom of the page and am not half done but must stop. A.P. Mitchell. 7 Clinton Aug 31 10 oclock. We are receiving our pay and do not have to drill this forenoon and I will write a few lines more. I sent you $10.00 by Williams. He said he left it with his wife and she would leave it with Uncle Stephen or hand it to you. I lent Finian $3.00. He said if he did not use it he would hand it or send it to you. I shall now send $20.00 that will make in all $33.00. I shall not gent any more for three months. I shall keep a few dollars with me so that if I have a chance go home I shall have the money to pay my fair. You had better pay the taxes. I made arrangement with Thomas Corbet Exq. of Marion to do my business for me. I want you to go to him with the money and he will pay the tax and get a receipt which you will take good care of. You must look up the old receipts to take to Marion with you case there should be any mistake. You can pay the tax if you think best without calling Corbet. I expect you can attend to it or send the money by your Father to pay it. They told when I was there that my tax was six dollars. I do not know wether that includes the war tax or not. When there is anything paid on the land I want Corbet to attend to it. He will see that whatever is paid is endorsed on the note, and get a receipts for it which you must take particular care of it. You can pay $30.00 or $30.00 just as you think best. I should think you had better not pay more than $20.00 for fear you will need the money for other purposes. You must be sure to keep money enough by you to make yourself and the baby comfortable. Do that without fail if you do not pay one dollar on the land. It is reported that we shall leave here tomorrow afternoon. If that is so I will leave a letter in the post office and tell you as near as I can where we shall stop. It will probably be somewhere in Missouri. Sunday Afternoon I have just learned that we are to march to Davenport Tuesday morning. Davenport is 40 miles from here and 48 miles from Iowa City and if it is possible that we stop there a week or two, if you go to Iowa City you had better go as quick as you can get ready, and, it is possible that I can go there and see you but Sarah don't put much in seeing me there for you will stand a good chance to get disappointed but I think you had go down there and make a visit of two or three weeks or more if you can. You can go down with your folks and make your Uncles folks take you home when you get ready to go. I do not believe you Father will go. He has got a great deal of work to do and I am afraid he will think he cannot spare the time. I shall expect to hear from you tomorrow night and I will leave this now and finish when Laurent gets back. Sunday eve. We have orders to pack up and I cannot stop to write any more. I will ???????????? lose $20.00. In a great hurry. A.P. Mitchell Camp Herronm Davenport Sept. 4 1862 My Dear Wife: I again seat myself to write a few lines. It is no task for me to write to you. I do it with the greatest pleasure that I do it I would like to write every day, and, in fact I would like to spend all my leisure time this way if it was convenient but it is now quite a Job for we have everything packed up in our knapsacks and besides we do not have any convenient place for writing. We seat ourselves flat on the ground and take a board or anything we can get hold of on our knees and go into work in earnest. I like this place much better that I did Clinton, the inhabitants here bring us in all the cakes and pieces of chicken and turkeys that we need. I want you to write who is drafted from our place . I heard from Marion last Tuesday. Harbhard was up there, he said the town was crowded. Cripples and sick. I am anxious to hear that Steve is drafted. We expect to leave here tomorrow. I cannot tell you where We shall but probably to Saint Louis, Mo. I shall write as soon as we get to Camp, let it be where it may. If we do not leave here tomorrow I will write again before we leave if I can. I have written to you once before since we came to this camp. Laurant told me he saw you and the baby. I am very much pleased with the things you sent me. They are just what I need. I will give one of them to George. I suppose you sent one to him. Your said you had given up go9ng to Iowa City. I was in hopes your would go. I wrote to you that I might probably get a chance to go to Iowa City. I am now satisfied that I cannot go but you must go if you can for amusing the baby will take a good part of your time. There is no use in my telling you to take good care of her for I know verry well you will do that. A.P. Mitchell.
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