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Cowan ,Tenn March 8^th/64 – (may be the 18^th?)

Dear Wife

I have a few moments now to spare and will use them in answering your letter of the 28 of Feb  I received it this morning was glad to get it and to hear that you ware all well it found me well.  I am well at this time, I am on picket to day have just come in an eat my dinner had bread and coffee, this morning for brakefast I had some steak out of a deers hind leg it was first rate have got enough for supper, It is warm and pleasant to day. It rained quite hard last night had a good deal of a thunder shower.  I have no news to write as I know of,  You say that you wear disapointed in not receiveing a letter in two weeks I dont dout it but you was not any more so than I was for it was over two weeks that I received no letter from you and I thought that I would not write until I had one from you, In the last letter that I sent to you I sent ten dollars in it,  I presume you have got it before this time, I will send you ten dollars more in this so that you can keep along untill you draw your money from the State, you spoke about or at least thought if you did not get a letter the next night after you wrote that you should think that I had got me a southern sweat heart, you need not give yourself any uneasiness about that for I have not seen any of those kind of things this way that would take my eye at all they cant compeat with our northern sweat hearts they couldnt be reckoned in the same generation for they all chew tobacco smoke and dip snuff and last of all swear like pirates.  Now this dipping snuff is a very neat and pretty peice of business perhaps you would like to know how they do it if so I will tell you they take a bit of pine or some other soft stick and chew one end of it to make it sliver up then they have some snuff in a rag or somthing else dip the stick into it and rub it on their teeth and gumbs and chew the stick till the snuff is all off then they [souze] it in again and so on that is what they call dipping snuff.  Now if you know any thing about me you must know that I would fancy such as those and should have as much as half a dozen of them, they would be so nice to hug and kiss I should delight to smack them on their lips all tobacco juice or snuff would be real nice wouldnt it I think it would so good day I have got to stop writing and go on picket again. I expect to come home some time or other if nothing happens so keep up good pluck  My love to all of you Wife & children dear     A.C. Smith

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