White River Landing Ark. Sept the 20th 1864 My Dear Elizabeth yours of August the 24 came to hand this morning it found me well & harty I was on picket last night & this morning when I came in thare was two letters for me one from you & one from B F Ashby Atlanta Georgia Ben was well as also all the boys that was thare at that time your litle wee letter was short sweet of but few words but full of Love & simpathy the suposition that I wont become sad & weary so far from home & frends is with out suport as I am not accustomd to eather but the oil that is required to make a weak lamp burn will not hurt a strong light so send on your soothing compliments & thare is no danger of doing other harm than to make me want to sea you worse & Love you beter I was on post last evening & thare was a Lady as rather two Ladies come to the line or post & said that 3 soldiers had come to there house & taken the last litle calf that they had & that they was coming on with it they was scared & I felt sory for them the soldiers soon come up with the calvs & I took the calvs from them & give them back to the women & told them to take them back home & I took the 3 men in to the Generl & he took them & put them under gard & so I gess that they will pay for taken a calf yet I allways have protected & defended the Ladies & children & I intend to do it still I have never taken any thing from them & I wil sufer befour I wil do so my mother & sisters & Companions was Ladies & I must not make war on such as them & if the Enemy ever goes to my home I hope that they wil treat my family with due respect we are doing nothing here only picket duty how long as when we wil leave here I am not able to tel thare is some talk of us going back to Morganza La I hope so (it is to cold here) you must be sirtain to have 5 or 6 acres of wheat sowed this fall & I hope to be thare to thrash it any how I said that yours of 24 found me well but I must call some of that back as I have bin unwell for a weak I taken a bad cold & makes me feal very bad The nights here are very damp & cold & does not agree with a Louisianan much Samuel Richardson Oscar McGhee & Martin Mann is gon over the river on a scout in the state of Missippi Peter Leak Rathbone & my self makes up mess No 1 now & Rathbone is sick we have a black boy to cook for us his name is Jo Martin Mann has bin rejected in domestic circulse but let me tel you that there is but few such felows I mean as good natured felows I can shure you of that two for I have bin with him long anough to tel that some of Hamilton girls who spite him wil hardly do beter I luk on him as being an exilant yong man some folks who are secret enemy of the Contry say that the Army will demoralize a man & make him unfit for society but let me tel you that rite in the Army is the place to get the rite kind of men whole souled felows who are not faint harted chicken harted & all this sort of thing in the Army I say there is the place to get deep men thare is the place to find deep Love not shalow musharoomer stuff that pases off with the first month of a mared life. Talk to a soldier who perhaps a few days ago scrambled over the dead as dying & fought thru fier & smoke & never trimbled talk to him & you find a kind voice pleasing look unblemished continence he talks freely speaks properly tho canded & firm if required he laughs meryly oftain have I been pleased at the mery laugh of the soldier talk to him more closely ( if he is yong which is genrly the case) ask him of his family if any if not talk of his mother or sisters & you find his hart soft & very excesible yes his talk is tender & the large tear that coms to his eys now starts down his cheek & thare you have a soldier that fears not the roar of the canon clash of arms or cryes of wounded men I say who fears nun of theas you sea him wipe away a tear & find him weeping not that I am perticular oposed to any who has not come in to the Army but I do say that when they say that thoes men that goes in never wil be fit for civil society any more they state false yes as false as satan him self give me the man that is not afeard to take his gun leave home & fight for the princaples which he advocates give me the man that is not afeard to stand in the hous of perel & fight for his contry & not stay at home & try to excuse there cowardice by saying this is an unholy war & they acted smart in not coming out let a man ever tel me that I was not sharp anough to keep out and I say that I come out Know never My time is now roling on & wil soon be out & I must say that not that I feard the Laws of the Land or of being made come know I knew beter but it was a good pretext & I come because I felt it my duty so to do & I done it thru patriotic fealings I feal like I am doing a good work I am in a good cause defending the homes of thoes that say I am hobeld in this war & that I get kild & so & so I am defending the homes of thoes felows that say I am in an unholy war as well as my owen if we did not stand gun in hand here at the front your homes would be burned & all distroid stil you all say how prevoking this war is & we must have peace on rebel terms Shame shame shame shame shame shame M A Hooker Patrick J. Anderson http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=patanderson 9654 Baltimore Avenue, Laurel, Maryland 20723