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Anderson Tenn, Jan 16^th/64

Dear Wife

I will now improve this opportunity to answer your letter of Jan 3^rd  I did not get it untill last night ought to got it Tuesday night.  I begun to think that you ware sick or that you had forgot that you had got an old man down this way that is fond of reading your letters and that likes to hear from you as often as once a week and would like to hear oftener if he could, but was glad to get it anyway and to hear that you ware all well it found me well and setting before a good fire but not a stove  I am well to day and hope these few lines will find you all enjoying the same great blessing   I told you in my last that I expected to leave the next day wall I did leave the next day about noon and a bitter cold time we had of it to for it rained and froze as fast as it come so it made it very slipry travling, and it was rather coool for my fingers as I had to cary my gun and some other fixings in my hands without any mittens or anything to cover the paws with, since the day before New Years we have had very cold weather here about as cold I believe as we often get in Connecticut this time of year at any rate  I have had a chance to try it since I left Stevenson for I lay on the ground out here among the mountains for four nights after I left Stevenson so you can judge for yourself what kind of a time I have had since I last wrote to you   we marched 19 miles to a place called [Tantallan] here the squad that I was with found no quarters to stay in when we got there so we went a little ways from the camp into a big vally betwen two high mountains built a big fire and spent the night there as best we could by roasting one side and freezeing the other on the whole it was rather of an unpleasent night to me and I guess it was to all of the rest of the boys.  The next day there was twelve of us detailed for a permanant picket to guard a bridge here also there was no quarters to live in so we still had to try the ground for a bed if we slept at all   the officer in command told us to go to worke and put us up some huts as good as we was amind to and we could stay there as long as we wanted to  this was Saturday  in the afternoon so we went to [mark] with a will to get some place to shelter us from the inclemency of the weather.  Horatio and I am together once more he and I built us a hut by ourselves we worked hard all day Sunday  Monday & Tuesday I went about 3 miles on the rail road track and backed board to use in building our hut  we had got it about done so that we thought we could be quite comfortable then on Thursday morning before I had got up some one stuck his head in at the door and says turn out you are releived we have come to releive you  you can guess whether such things vex a fellow or not but it makes no dif if we get orders to go we have to go whether we want to or not so we packed our duds and come back eight miles down the road towards Stevenson to whare we now are this is a rail road station called Anderson  It is in Tennessee on the rail road from Nashville to Stevenson  It is Saturday to day one week ago last night I arived at [Tantallan] and now I am at Anderson whare I shall be in another week  the Lord only knows but I tell you whare I wish I might be that is in Moodus to one Mrs Smith  From your Affectionate Husband Abner C. Smith

Copyright © 2009 Bruce E. Leandro. All rights reserved.