Letter to Henry A. Bitner | ||
1863-02-22
Yours of the 18th ult. is at hand,
having been forwarded
from Somersville, Va; and I will
have to answer it in brief to=night, as we are under
marching
orders for to=morrow morning at 3.30, and
I do not know when
I shall have an opportunity
of writing again. Our destination is unknown to
your
humble servant. I do not know of any regiment
in the service which has been moved about
quite as much as
the "Gipsies," as Genl Wise used to call us.—
I am glad to hear
that you are having good times
in old Southampton. Do not
imagine that the
toils and privations of a soldier's life have made
such a
misanthrope of me that hearing of those
good things you describe would cause "hard
thoughts." As far as
wishing myself out of the
army is concerned I have wished it long ago,
but shall
only get out honorably—either an honorable
discharge or death.
Give my "Best" to all the friends and espe=
cially
remember me to "Katie darling." How I wish
that instead of lying down to=night with my cold
and bony masculine bedfellow, and being bothered
by
those parasites which even poor soldiers have, I
could have the pleasure of folding
— a — — what
in the D—l
was I going to say? The tattoo
as taps will beat in 15 minutes for "lights out".
Address
D.R.P. Shoemaker
Co. "E" 11th Reg. O.V.I.
Via Cincinnati Ohio
Ford, Kentucky.
D.R.P.S.
We are here. Direct your letter via
Galatin, Ky Tenn.
Letter to Henry A. Bitner | ||