29 June 1863: “I expect their is men in the North that hardly knows their is a war let them come to dixsey they will see different…”

Item Description:  Letter dated 29 June 1863, from Elias Brady to his wife, Martha Gass Brady.  Elias Brady of Warren County, Ind., enlisted as a musician in Company D, 86th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Army of the Cumberland, in August 1862.  This letter, written while Brady was in camp near Murfreesboro, TN, describes picket duty, camp life, troop movements, and the capture of prisoners.

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Item Citation:  Letter dated 29 June 1863 from the Elias Brady Papers #3694-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Item Transcription:

Camp near Murfreesboro
June 29th/63
 
Dear and affectionate Companion
 I received your kind letter dated 21th a few minutes a go I was glad to hear you was well I am well hoping when this Silent message comes to hand it will find you injoying the same blessing when I wrote to you last we was expecting to go to the front but the order was countermanded we still remain in camp the report about our mail being stopped for 12 days was fals we get our mail regular all the time and will unless we should half to go to the front then I susapose we would not get mutch mail our men brought in 700 priseners last night about mid night they captured them at Shelbyville they had a big fight our men took pocession of the town our army is still advancing the last account we had our left and right wings was prety near to Tallahoma the center of the army was some 10 or 12 ms from here we ar guarding these priseners close to camp will send them North this evning I guess  I had a long talk with some of them some of them is very saucy and others ar tired of the war one man told me that they would fight us as long as they could find a corn to eat I asked him what they would do when we drove them out of Tennessee he said we hadent drove them out yet I told him that we would drive them out befor this battle is over he was very saucy we had it prety rough for a while the guard came along and made me stand back if I had a daired I would a went for his meat house it is raining it been raning prety mutch since the army first mad a forward move teems ar going to the front by the thousands taking suplies to the army all of our brigade teems went out this mourning 9 teems from our regt we sent out our usel number of pickets this mourning orders came a few minuts a go for more pickets our company is sending out 15 more men nearly all the co is out on picket they ar expecting a atact in the rear they ar going to duble the pickets Colonel Dick told us this mourning that he thought that we would stay here they war expecting the enimy to attack us in the rear he thought we would halve all the fighting we whanted without going to the front  it is hard to tell we halve so many diferent orders we may march to night and may not move at all we dont know mutch more about our moves than you do   I received three letters yesterday on from Pap one from Ma one from Adaline I answered them last evning they started out this mourning you sayed that you had a mail twice a week and looked for a letter evry mail but was disapointed a good many times if I was to write you a letter evry day you wouldent get a letter evry male the male goes just when it pleases they ar very carlis I wrote you a letter day befor yesterday and one the day befor sent them with C B Thompson  I think if you will notice the date of all my letters you will find that I write twice a week some times three times a week so you must not blame me if you don’t get a letter evry mail  I love to get letters from you I expect you like to hear from me often that is the reason I write so often
 
Mat it is no use to grieve and fret it dont mend the mater but I would give all I expect to be worth if I could be at home injoying my self like I was a year ago there is but little time passes over but what I am thinking of and lonely Some of the boys injoy them selves here but I would rather be at home I could content my self better if they war trying to end the war but it is a speculating scheme our leading men ar making money and they dont try to stop the war their is men enough in the North to crush this rebellion in a short time why dont they bring them out I understand that the rebels ar in vading pencilvany I don’t cimpathise one bit with them if they would burn evry thing in the state it would be a good thing if as large a state as pencilvany cant protect her self she aught to suffer mabe this rade will open some of their eyes I think it will be a help to the union cauis it is easy to stay at home and talk but when it comes to acting they will find it not so easy I expect their is men in the North that hardly knows their is a war let them come to dixsey they will see different Mat I could sit here and write a week on the things concerning the war and my opinion in regard to the way it is carried on but it does no good and I am sure it dont interest you so I will stop writing on that subject
 
health is good in camp and we get plenty to eat potatoes bread and meat we dont get many luxuries a Cherry pie wouldent go bad about this time of day uncle Sam has not come around with his greenback yet probly wont for severl months  we made out our pay roles prety near 2 months ago but all the good it don  I recon if we dont get it we wont spend it  evry thing we buy we half to pay 40 prices for so a little money dont go far  a big storm is a comming up I guess I halve scribbled enough I halve wrote a big letter hant said mutch neither so I will bring it to a close  I whant you to write often I would like to get a letter evry mail if I could but that is out of the question  we get a daily mail here cant get a letter evry male I whant to get a letter evry third mail any way  write soon  good bye
 
from your ever affectionate Husband
E Brady
 
write soon
Mat Brady Loney Brady
 
PS  I received a letter from you sometime ago it was dated 18th I received it 21st three days after it was rote it was maled at Lafayette this last letter was maled at Wmsport dated 9 days ago now you can see how unregular the male comes

 

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