Mouth of White R Ark Monday night Nov the 29 1864 My Dear Elizabeth Yours of the 20th inst caime to hand last night it found me well & harty as also this leaves me hoping earnestly that it may find you & all well; & now at the begining let me insert in this a memorandum of Saturday the 19 inst as you expresd a wish to know what I was doing on that day & you will sea that you was rite in one gess (saturday 19 Nov 7 A. M. Cold & drizly morning I am in my shanty writing letters I wrote on to Lizzie one to Mrs Tomlin (of Ills) very mudy to day steamer Gladiator went up I am in camp all day I am well & harty oh when this cruil was is over) (taken from my memorandum book) (now let me give the 20 inst) 20 Nov rainey morning blowing off rather cold from the north I am in camp to day I wrote 4 letters to day one to Lieut R R Davis mail came in I get 3 letters one from Lizzie one from P L Hooker & one from Marey Bevis 8 P.M. cold) to day I have been riving bords to cover my shed for my horse no prospects of leaving here yet some trups going to Memphis This is some of your McLeansboro Paper [editors note: its blue] some I got from Martin I have a quier of fine paper but this being on the table & Martin is seting on the box whare my paper is I thought this would do this time but I nearly allways write on such cheep paper as this when I write to some one else but you as when I write to the army as it is torn up any way I was at the landing just a few moments ago & the steamer Misouria caim down I went on board of her but had no sooner got on then the captain rang the bell to start & off I caim in a hurah for fear I must go to Vicksburg as futher but I stade long enough to sea that there was no mail & no papers later than the 26" which I had read some time ago so I came back to my shanty & tride to be content P L Hooker is geting a long very well now & in his last letter he solisited me to come & soldier with him a while saying that his Colonel had said that if I would come he would give me a Captains Commission & he urged me to excep it & come & be with him a while I supose he thought that the chance would be good as he spoke of seaing fine times & geting big pay I have not concluded to except yet stating to him that I did not know whether my qualifycasions would admit of it or not Sevrl of the boys is about geting sick furloughs to go home & I gess they will make it after a while Frank Morris John A Clark Mils Bosworth James Weldon Henry Golihur & Mike Mabery I say buley for them & I am glad to sea you so well satisfide for me not to come for I do not expect to get the chance I told John Clark that it would all be for the worse if he went home for in the long run I would have the advanteg of him as you know that there is times in a mared life that if procratinade is by far the most palitable & by being urged on only brings premature truble but again I have oftain herd it said that procrastination is the Theaf of time but dont you think that that the loss of some litle time in some cases is in the out come is a gain; I do, in fact my time is geting quite short is it not would it not be beter if my time was procrastinated a litle or would it not & now being as you suggested that I do not come home now I shal ask of you if I had not beter stay a while longer than 8 months longer what do you say; if you say so I recon I would love to see you any how if no more for I am cirtanly yous truly with out a blemish ( now you will have something to write about Mac to Lizzie December the 1st 1864 I am well & harty the mail goes out to day there is some talk of peace hardly reliabel tho I am Yours as ever M A Hooker Peace hurah boys hurah what says you is peace made You know but now you peace Democrats has bee talking about peace & we quited & now it is out time we are talking about peace what do you think of that go you think we will make it I do Patrick J. Anderson http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=patanderson 9654 Baltimore Avenue, Laurel, Maryland 20723