Lyman S. Williams to Lois L. Williams

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Battallion 6th Vermont [Vols.] Near Winchester Va.Nov. 17th 1864 Dear Sister

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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

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[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

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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

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[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

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