Joseph Rutherford to [Hannah Rutherford]
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I received yours of the 11th yesterday, and you may believe it was very welcome.
I did not have to go on that march as I believe I told you in another letter. But
I have since been out with the Brigade on picket duty, and was gone 4 days. We
were very fortunate in having most splendid weather, and escaping being gobbled up. You may believe it was a trying time for us,
but we came out all right. Do not feel uneasy about my health for it is
improving every day. In fact it is so good that I am doing all the duty. Dr
Clark having gone home, and this is one reason I have not written oftener
The Chaplain and myself are very comfortable in our little [ ], and shall regret when the time comes that
we shall have to leave it. I am seated with my back to a great sour-ing fire as
I write this. We have had a terrible cold day, water has frozen written 3 feet
of my fire and the wind has blown hard enough to grattify the most difficult.
The wind does not blow tonight but it is very cold. So far as I know my second
leave was all night. The Dr did not think it necessary to write.
Things in camp are about after the old sort, except there is considerable calice here just now, and some have said that cotton has gone up. It may be so, I
am not able to say. If we havent got blockade
measures, it is evident
there is a great effort to run cotton up to a high mark.
But let them [ ] "it is none of my funeral". I
will close this style of language by asking. Why is it necessary for a literary
woman to eat beans? Ans - To make her astule (ass:tool). Will this
do?
Dont worry about me for I promised you that if any thing happens to me you shall know the worst.
I have not got in the way of writing long letters yet, but shall get back on the
old track soon. Give my love to our dear children & tell Helen that I
remember her promise when we parted. You know how dear
you are to me and how much love I send, and since my return to camp it seems as
though you are a thousand times dearer to me
than ever before. Who can
know how necessary we are to each others happiness?
Remember me to our friends
Ever ThineJ.C. Rutherford