Letter from Orlando L. French to Lydia French

Camp [ ?] Johnston, Four miles South of Nashville Tennessee Dear Lydia, I received your letter of this 30th [ ?] for which you have my thanks it was longer than usual, which made it [that, thus ?] more welcome - When you get through with your work I shant exercise you with anything less than two shirts and I see that you can write a very good letter if you try, if you will only write as you would talk you may rest assured that it will not only be gladly received but it will be interesting notwithstanding you used to talk so much to me that I would pay no attention to what you said. I can read it with pleasure, and if I were with you I think I should be willing to sit for one day at least and hear you, if I would have the priveledge I think we will enjoy this life when I get home dont you, I am going to do everything I can to make our life a pleasant one after this war is over & I know you will It would have been a [ ?] pleasure to me to have taken supper with you with that bill of fare that you mentioned. Our bill of fare varies from hard tack, sow belly, & coffee to

[written at top of page] The firing is increasing, if anything happens I will write again tomorrow - perhaps I ought not to have written this, but dont worry

coffee sow belly & hard tack, with an occasional dose of beans, but for a week we have been luxuriating on flour, we have had it so as to [insure ?] it in part to the men, for our mess we have got a Dutch oven and with the help of some baking powders we manage to have what we call good biscuit, but I fear they would hardly pass for that with you. but I relish everything I eat, and it does me good, for I am growing fleshy everyday but I eat enough to fat a hog. I have not arrived at that kind of an appetite that I can eat this smoked side meat without it fried up pretty hard but I can destroy a pretty large pile of beef, which we have usually twice a week. I think the army is the place for me, and I suppose if it agrees with me as well all of this time that you will consent to let me join the [Regular ?] Service wont you - [or well ?] I shant if you do - The war [over ?] here, since I wrote you is of one great importance, and what there is, is not very pleasant to write about. Yesterday some foraging teams from Sherridans Division living east of us, were out on an expedition and lost twenty teams, and the same day one Brigade, we hear it was the 9th [ ?] and one a Scout, and ran into a big nest of rebels and all got taken prisoners, - also the Lieut Colonel of the 74th in our Brigade was out scouting some

and got swallowed up. Our Brigade is under orders to be ready to march at a moments notice with three days cooked rations in their haversacks, and I heard a dignitary of the Brigade say that if we marched the Quartermasters with the trains would be ordered to Nashville inside of the fortifications - as near as we can learn the rebels are six thousand strong at Murfreesborough and between here and there and it is thought they will offer us battle, well we are ready for them if they will meet us there but I do not think the army will be moved very far south until there are other means of obtaining subsistence. It is ten oclock of a warm moonlight night and every sound of life is hushed, in the camp except the solitary tread of the Sentinel as he walks to & fro on his beat, - everything is so quiet that I feel more like taking a seat by the fire and think of you, of home and the many friends I have left, of when I shall return and what will be our future, than I do like writing by the way do you ever dream of me I do of you often, and I never had an unpleasant dream of you or anything else since I have been away from home Well I will take my pipe and a seat by the fire and dream of you for a little while and then lay down in my nest of straw

Tuesday morning 10 o'clock Nov 9th This morning we were arroused from sleep by the beating of the long roll, with orders to fall in - the attack was expected on our right, some skirmishing had taken place and our pickets [ ?] in a little way, but they made no further demonstrations and the regiment [stalked ?] away after standing two hours. Such alarms will no doubt be of frequent occurence. You say that you are not lonesome all of the time, I wish you could enjoy yourself all of the time, but I know that is impossible under the circumstances. For my part, I have enough through the day to occupy my mind without thinking much of home, but after the days work is done and I am released from the cares of my position some what, then it is that I get lonesome sometimes and wish I could be with you. Did you ever know just how necessary your humble servant was to your happiness before, well it is with me, still it is not strange that you are more lonesome than what I am as I have more to occupy my time. Well the mail is about ready to leave so I must close this, - I think you had better go to [Minnesota ?] as soon as Christmas, and my letters that will reach there about that time I shall direct to [Minnesota ?] - I wish every time your write you would tell me where my last letters was dated from, and the dates. - As I close this we hear the sound of artillery in advance of us, what it means we do not know, we will know soon, will write in a day or two. Forever your affectionate husband O L French