#33

[Written sideways on top of Scan 1]

Your paper is
all gone but one sheet.

			        Wednesday
		Gifford Springs ^ May 4,th / 64.
Dear wife I am as well as usual at this time,
Cooking for a squad at this place that are building
a block house here you will not find it on the
map it is four miles from Estel Springs on the
road towards Nashville. there is 19 of us here
the place had not got any name. So we named
it Gifford Springs in honor of our Captain. he
is a bully good fellow we have got first
best Com Officers all from Capt down to
Seargents the Mich fourth Cavalry Camped
about one mile from here last night John
Jim Paine Tom Munson and a lot of the
boys went over to see them Jim Paine had
2 brothers there Stephen Boyls was there
I did not go because I did not like to be
in the night air have not got tough enough
yet to risk it. the boys were all well there
I have not been to Bridgeport Since I first
left dont know how the boys are getting
along there dont get your letters quite so
quick but get them as soon as they can
be sent from Bridgeport up here I am
    a
in ^ good healthy place right in the woods
Went out last Sunday for a hunt for game  
7 of us found some sheep but they was so

poor they was not fit to eat so we let them
run found one pretty good hog but he got away
the Capt told us not to take any thing we
could not reach or did not want found lots
of women and I will tell you how they all
looked they are slim as eels except a large
portion which must be good Union ladies for
they like the Union Soldiers they are growing
fat quite fast expect the Soldier give them
their rations to make them fat the old
veterans say for one pound of coffee or tobacco
they can ---- all the women in the Southern 
Confederacy most of them dont wear any
hoops so you can tell a union lady as
soon as you can see her. the wearing
apparrel of the sesesh is a large coffee sack
with straps sewed on or holes cut through
for the arms and a pair of old army shoes
on their feet dont you think they are
tempting. Got your letter of April 21st day
before yesterday glad to hear you was better
and it was warm weather there am
afraid C Deline will not work the place
very good he will have so much to do he
cant do it all without hiring a good deal
Creasinger is to have the lambs divided

[Written sideways on top of Scan 3]

Write often take
care of yourself
and I will do
the same.
        SAH

			May 4th, 1864
			App


at Shearing time but you are to keep the lambs
till the three years are up at the same rate as you
keep the old sheep you can do as you think
best with that old steer Sell or keep him
either. Got a letter from Oscar monday he says he
is not any better I feell sorry for him he says
he has not got any letter from me or John since
he went to the Hospital last fall I wrote him
one letter in answer to the one he sent me last
winter before he went home it must have been
lost he wants I should send his descriptive & 
roll I had it sent last winter tell Leouisa to
write him that I had [illegible in original] More send his
Descriptive roll last Jan. I think it must be
with the surgeon in charge of St. Mary's Hospital
he told me to direct to St. Marys Hospital, Detroit
but did not say what ward he was in I shall
write to him this week but he may not get my
letter. well I must stop for I shant have room
to say I love you and the children or that I
should be glad to see you kiss the boys for me
and tell them to be good boys good bye pray
for me always from your husband to his
wife C E P H.                   S A Howe