William Wirt Henry to Mary Jane Henry
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I neglected to write you my usual letter in the middle of the week, for I was
very buisy all the time besides I told Capt Dillingham to go and see you as soon
as he got home and tell you all the news, which I suppose he did - so that is my
excuse. Not a very good one I will admit. I recd your's written last week, all
right. About my coming home, I shall send in a pitition about Tuesday or perhaps
tomorrow and if the powers that be see fit to let me go I shall be there
sometime. It will very likely take about a week to find out. As soon as the
papers get around I will either come or write you the result. If I cannot get a
leave of absence then you must come down here and see me for I must see you blessed wife
soon, for I cannot stand it much longer You could come back with
Capt. Dillingham when he returns very well if I cannot go, but I will not belive
until I try hard but what they will let me off for a few
days but of this I can tell you better next time, we will wait and hope. We have been having a long cold rain storm and all is
dreary and cold here now. Even George has begun to tease to go home, and I shall
send him as soon as I find out about it. Mud! Mud! again is the cry now, and we may calculate that the
winter is upon us now in ernest, and we have got to make the best of it. War is
an awful calamity to a nation, and when this one is to end I must say I am not
able to see, things moove very slow, still we are all in hopes something will be done this winter to close it, but what that
something is, we cannot tell. However we are very well off to what the poor
fellows are that are in the
Advance towards Richmond, for they have
to march and lay out in the wet and cold, and sometimes suffer for something to
eat; while we are in good comfortable tents with a good fire, plenty to eat, and
very little marching to do - but a man that has left all for his country must
not murmur, but make the most of it, remmembering that “every
cloud has its silver lining” I am comparitavely speaking very
comfortably situated, have a good large tent with a nice little Stove in it,
with a floor and good bed, but still it makes my heart bleed sometimes to see
how the poor soldiers have to suffer. I was very sorry to leave our camp at
Seneca, and my nice Log Cabin that I took so much paines to fix up with a good
fireplace and all so handy but it [] repine, all the consolation
[] you should not be a [] It will be to bad [] grant·me
a “leave []
days rest from the noise and. bustle of camp life. Also I want to be
in my own quiet home again with my loved one’s around me – Oh! how I would hug my darling little Mollie, and she would be so glad to see her papa, they must let me go – what a grand
old Thanksgiving we would have, would we not. My health still continues good, so
does Georges, and all the other boys. The Regt. is quite healthy now. I shall
have to scold our sister Katie Parker a little, for she has not written me for
the last two weeks, no one but you my darling one. There is no news for me to
write so I will bid you good night, and await my good luck which I hope will get
around and that I may be permitted to spend the next Sabbath night with you,
resting your aching head upon the bosom of your faithful
husband
William