I. D. Affleck Letter to Parents

Camp near Chattenooga
Sunday June 29th 1862

Dear Mother & Father:

. . . We are camped about five miles from Chattenooga at a fine large spring—I wrote home from our last camp on Look-out mountain.

Company "L" an independent company that was sworne in for ninety days is to be disbanded to day because their time is up. I will send this by one of them—Col. Wharton has sent to Richmon to try and get the regiment transfered to Texas [and] we are looking for the gentleman to get back every hour—I got a letter from Oswald [Tilghman] last week written at Richmon[.] he had a rought time getting there—as some place on the Tennissee he came up [on] a Yakey scouting party, but he saw them before they say him, and he turned into the woods and let them pass—He says that if he does not get a commission in the Maryland regiment he will joyn one of the companies of "Partizan rangers" that are forming in Richmon every day—We are staying here to recruit our horses before going over into Tenn. We are ordered to hold ourselves in readiness to march at a moments warning. We expect to go to Nashville or some where up there—

We have a force of about five thousand men here at Chattenooga and a large number of pieces of Artillery—I have been waiting for Billy Gorce [Groce] untill I am all most afraid to see him for fear he will not bring me a horse. I know you have sent or will send me a horse by him but I dont think he can get across the Miss. river—We are on half rations now in camp but we can get any thing we want out in the country—Yesterday I went after forage about fifteen miles from here and coming back I stoped at a house to get dinner, they had finished eating but the old Lady went to work and fixed me up as nice a dinner as I have had since I left home. after I had eaten she brought out a basket of nice plumbs and another of ripe June apples and she would not charge me a cent. I wanted to pay her but she sayed she never charged a southern soldier any thing—. . . . Perry is well but anxious to go home but he says he wont go unless I go with him—I am very near out of money[;] the regiment was paid up at the last camp but they did not geive the new recruits a cent not eaven the bounty to with we are entiled and I dont expect to get it now—All of my clothes and other things that I left at Rienza are in possession of the Yankeys and I have very little with [me]—I hope you have sent me some by Billy Groce—

The bugle will blow in a fiew minute for preaching so I will wait and finish this eavening—

[I. D. Affleck]

Affleck, Isaac D., "With Terry's Texas Rangers: The Letters of Dunbar Affleck," ed. by Robert W. Williams and Ralph A. Wooster, Civil War History, Vol. 9, Sept. 1963, pp. 299-319.