[page 1]
Camp Near Knoxville Tenn
Nov 9th 1862
My Dear Wife
I wrote you
a short letter on yesterday, just to
lett you know where I was; I have
an opportunity to send you a letter to
Montgomery, tomorrow, where it can
be mailed to you & that you will
be sure to get it, I received a letter
from you dated the 28th of Oct. which
I was so glad to see, and to hear from
you & the babie, it was on the march
from Cumberland Gap to Knoxville when
I received it, and on my arrival at Kno-
xville Major Holt handed me a letter
from you. the one that you sent by
Joe to be mailed in Montgomy, but
insted of mailing it he gave it to
Major Holt, to hand it to me, But
when Major Holt arrived at Knoxville
he heard of our evacuating Kentucky,
and that we would soon be at
Knoxville, so he awaited our arrival
He said that he would have sent
it to me but he did not know
where to direct it, and he thought
that it would be best to keep it
untill he saw me so he has had
the letter in his pocket on one
month, We will leave this place
[page 2]
tomorrow morning, for [London ?]
where we will stay for a few days
from there we will go to Nashville
[Town ?] or near that place, we will
[march ?] on foot the distant of two hundred
miles, I am fearful that we will
have a hard time of it, but I
have got so that I can stand hard-
ship, I cannot tell you where to
direct your letters, but you must
be sure to write to me by Capt
Midleton, he will leave Montgomery about
the [scratched out: Twentith] 20th of No for his company
I wish you would send by him
the five dollar gold piece that
I have, I dont know where it is
but I think that it is in my trunk
in a small box, be sure and send
it, also send me the conforter you
made for me & a pair of pants
I want the warmest pair that
I have, dont send the pair that
Granie gave me, send the
Brown corded pair & one
or two pair of socks, that will
be all that I will want, untill
I come home, I will try and
come home as soon as I can, I
will not, say what time for fear
that I will disappoint you; it
is not as I say, if it
was so I would have been home
long before this, I have a strong
[page 3]
notion of [nursing ?], if you look at
my diplomen you will see that
I have not been practising med-
icine five years, It will not be
five years untill March, when
I came home I think that I
will remain to stay at home if
I can I am tired of this war
I want to see you & the babie
so bad that I dont know what
to do, I try to be as cheerful as
I can, I have not said anything
about [nursing ?] to anyone in camp
I dont want you to say anything
about it, for fear that I might
fail in geting off. I heard that
we were going to Mobile, or to
Pollard, below Montgomery, I would
have written what I had heard
but I new that you would be
looking for us to pas through
Montgomery and as we are not
going through you would
be disappointed, not wishing
to disappointing you, I did not write
you all that I have heard about
going through Montgomery as
others has don, I know what
disappointments are so I do not
wish to disappoint you in any
way, we have very cold weath
up here, We now have good tents
& I have three good blankets
[page 4]
& a good over coat that I got from
the yankys with three blankets &
a good over coat I keep very warm.
I will send this letter by Sargt. J. R.
Adams, he is from our company, I also send
three books, a peace of opium that
I want you to take good care of it,
I send you half I will keep the other
half from fear that I might get
sick and would need it, the peace
that I got was worth about twenty
five Dollars, the peace that I
send you is worth about fifteen
Dollars, also a package of [Bromo ?]
two [probangs ?], a small peace of
Buck skin that will do to clean
silver (I dont wish it to be cut)
& a thimble for [Lucie ?], all which
I took from the Yanky camps,
If it had not of bin for the
retreate from Kentucky, I could
have sent you a good many
little things that would have
been a service to you; but
they were all thrown away; this
paper that I am writing on I picked
up in the yanky camp.
I am glad to know that I am
so much thought of by the people
in the neighborhood, you must
go and see them and keep on the
good side of them, for when
I get home I want to make
Fitzpatrick Mitchell Williamson Papers
