Powers, Frank E. Letters (1864)

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Charleston East Tenn
Aug 4th 1864

Miss Noble

Dear Lady

You having 
ignored the title of “Brother & sister” I find 
myself at a loss as to the manner in 
in which I should address you.

By the way [illegible] any aversion 
as well as “pencilings by the way” but as it 
is impossible for me to write with any-
thing else tonight (as I find myself out of ink) 
and if postponed till tomorrow I may not 
find time for a week, I have condescended to 
make a “military Necessity” of it & use pencil.

But to your letter. You complain of 
my not having replied to your letters as soon 
as you thought I ought to have done and make that a pretext for writing me a very 
short sarcastic & cool letter demanding the 
return of the card you sent me and

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more than hinting that mine was no longer 
of any value to you.

I say made that a pretext for I am 
perfectly satisfied in my own mind that it 
can be no more, for you are a lady of 
far to much sense, and one who pays 
altogether to much respect to the customs 
of society & the feelings of others to ever 
have written that letter simply because 
your letter of June 25th did not reach me 
and be replied to in time to get into your 
hands by the 23rd of July. No! No! There is, 
there must be something behind all this talk 
about the depreciation of the value of articles 
obtained after they were in posession—My 
“Apparent earnestness” & all that sort of 
thing to induce you to write as you did 
instead of the delay in my reply reaching you, 
for you are well aware that letters often 
miscarry in the Army as well as that 
I am liable to be called to the front at 
any moment, where I would stand  but 
little if any chance of getting your letter 
perhaps for a month, during those times


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of commotion & Battle that if I did 
receive it there I’d find little or no 
chance to reply, unless I took time that 
I should be entirely devoted to the wounded 
& dying for there are not half enough 
surgeons there now to attend those who 
are dying for want of surgical aid.

Now then! the query arises what is it 
that has produced this sudden and I 
must say singular change in your style 
of writing to me? I admit my perfect 
inability to offer any reasonable cause 
or excuse for that change unless as 
you said in aforementioned letter when speaking 
of my “abominable Spelling” you had
("Almost") given me up in dispair on 
account of the aforesaid "Abominable (bad)
Spelling" -- but if such is the fact I think 
you had seen enough of my resignation 
under the rod of correction & reproof to know 
that I would have borne, with due for-
titude, the plain announcement of the fact 
that my letters were to “Plebian” to suit 
your “Parisian tastes” & have discontinued them

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As to the return of that photograph, that 
is simply out of the question at present 
for I value it altogether to highly to part 
with it upon so slight a pretext and 
until I know the cause of your 
displeasure (Perhaps it is because I 
do not like Henry Ward Beecher, is it?) 

Your letter of the 25th of June was replied 
to on or about the 20th of July and it is 
possible that you are now in posession of 
it & if not, you soon will be doubtless.

In that letter I sent some flowers, did 
you get them & if so, in what condition 
I will try  & send you to days paper (if I can find 
one in camp) containing an account of a little 
skirmish a few of our boys had Monday last.

Athens is a town of about two thousand inhabitants 
located fourteen miles north of us on the Knoxville 
R.R. A small squad of our Regt., numbering 
20 men in all, is kept there as a provost guard 
and are under my care & in my charge, therefore 
I partook in part of the glory of the Great Exploit 
in as much as I dressed the wounded mans hand.

We have since placed the entire band, I think 
Hors de combat for three years or during the war. 
Our boys never take such men prisoners

The lateness of the hour (tis one P.M.) admonishes 
me of the fact that my letter is quite long enough for 
a reply to your short note and as it is very plain 
in expression  I fear it is longer than you may like 
but then it is after ‘My style.’ I shall look for your reply 
to this anxiously in hopes it will enlighten me as to 
the cause of your disaffection. As Ever 
Frank E. Powers