Lyman S. Williams to Lois L. Williams
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As the mail will probably go out to-morrow and as I do not feel sleepy I will sit
up and write a few lines to you My Sister. I am as well as usual and as I have a
good comfortable tent I am enjoying myself as well as usual. I sent a letter to
Carrie a few days ago which I hope she has received and I have no doubt that she
was much pleased with it. I do not know how to write to such young ladies to
make a letter interesting to them. The last letter I received from you was a
good long one and I have not half answered it yet but will try and answer it to
night if I can I wrote to you a few days befor I received your’s and I presume
that I scolded some as I had not had a letter from you
[in a] long long while and I felt a little
[torn] but I got all over it when I received
[your] letter and was sorry that I wrote you such a letter
but I will try and not be so hasty again. We are now encamped about four miles
from Winchester and have been ever since the 9th and we have been at work and
fixed up a little for cold and rainy weather if we should have any while we are
here but I think that we shall move the other side of Winchester to go into
winter quarters but we may stay here. You say that you have nearly finished the
Study of Geometry well I think that you have done remarkably well for one of
your age and if you keep on in your Studies I shall have to loock out or you
will get ahead of me. Well I hope that you will improve your time better than I
did when I used to go to school. And if you do not have many beaux so much the
better. There will be time enough for them yet and I do not see why you are not
good loocking enough. You know the old saying is
this. “handsome is
that handsome [does”] I should like to attend your
Ly[ceum and] above all listen to your paper
“Te[torn] Star” for I have no doubt that it would
[be] interesting and entertaining for it has an attractive
name and I should like to have you send me yours very much indeed. If I were
with you perhaps I would help you to write a composition but I have no idea but
what you could write a better one than I could if I should try and then I could
write of nothing but war or home sweet home or something of that sort which has
been written upon thousands of times but perhaps I could tell them a little
something about war. You say that Father talks of taking one of Uncle Abbie’s
boys and keeping him for a few years Well I think that perhaps it would be a
good plan for him to do so both for him and the boy also.
Two or Three days ago I got my commission from the Governor as 1st Lt. in Co.
“I” and the next day I was mustered so now I am 1st Lt. insted of second Lt. and
I am back with
[my old] Co. again. The boys in the Company
[torn] glad that I have come back into
[the] Company and I am glad also for I feel more at home
there than anywhere else in the Regt. and perhaps if I do well I shall some time
get to be Captain. Wont that sound big Capt. Williams Well I intend to do my
duty as well as I know how and if they deem me worthy of promotion I shall not
refuse it, would you sister dear. I have not heard from Nathan for three weeks
or more and I am expecting a letter from him soon We expect that the Rail-Road
will be finished to Winchester as soon as the first of next week and then we
shall probably get our mail every day and I hope we shall for I prize my mail
very much indeed The mail is all the comfort that we soldiers have and if we
were deprived of that we should not know what to do with ourselves We prize our
letters very much more than you folks at home think we do. I intend to come home
again this winter and see my loved ones there for a few days at least. But I
will bring this to a close for this time. Give my love to all the folks at home
and a kiss of two for Carrie With much love I remain as ever your affectionate
brother.
1st Lieut L.S. Williams Co. I. 6th Vt. Vols