John W. Hill to Mary Scott Hill - November 25th, 1862

Nolensville Williamson Co Tenn
Nov 25th 1862

Miss. M. S. Hill

Dear Sister

your letter by Maj Shipp was received a few dayes ago whilest we wer camped at Muffreysbourough We were all very glad to see Tom Gill 47 & M. Shipp once more. and to hear from you all once more I also received a letter from sister Sarah by them which is the second letter I have had from her. We left Kingston on the 8th of this month got across the mountains to Sparter on the 10th And camped there till the 18th when we left for Mufreysbourough got there the 21st and got to this place to-day nothing having transpired worthy of note on the road General John Breckinridg is at Mufreysbourough with some tenn or fifteen thousand troops the rest of our troops is down towards Winchester Tenn. We are know in sixteen miles of Nashville and about nine miles of the Yankeys And I expect that we will be after kicking up a muss withe them in a few dayes Col Whorton is now a Brgd. General And he has some four or five thousand men under him. Col Wheeler & John Morgan are also Brgd. Generals. Whorton & Wheeler have charge of all the Cavelrey under Bragg and Morgan of all that belongs to Kirby Smiths Division

the penn is so bad that I will try a pencil a while. Brother Bob has got back all right and in fine healthe the man that he was left with at Bardstown died and He went over to Perysville and stayed with our wounded of over there he says that he cutt of two mens legs whilest he was there and that they were bothe doing well when he left them. He sayes that the yanks acknowledge the loss of six thousand men at the battle of Pereysville and that they say that it was a very shamfull affare upon there part. The yanks are making the men of Kentucky take and oathe to suport the Lincoln Administration Many of the Negros that they yank soldiers stole whilest they were in Tenn they sold in Ky. Some of the children from the mothers for a qrt of milk or whiskey and some tenn or twelve year old boys for tenn or twelve dollars Brother Bob sayes that the yankeys treated him very well whilest he was withe them He says that at the battle of Perrysvill that some of there new troops runn clear back to Springfield our loss was not over twenty five hundred they also say that we whiped them at Bardstown The news has just come into camps that Morgan had a fight to-day withe the yanks between Lebanon & Mufreysbourough and that he killed two hundred and took eight hundred prisoners But I can not vouch for the trouthe of the report. though it is more than probable that it is true for John Morgan is near Lebanon and so is the Enemy And he is the man that will fight them. Wheeler is on the pike from Murfeysbourough & Nashville whilest Whorton gards the pike from Nashvill to Shelbeyville. I wrote to you from Knoxville one to Sister Matt from Kingston giving you and ac of our trip into Ky and as there has nothing of interes come to pass sinse we got back into Tenn. I have nothing to write about. We are all in fine healthe Scott I want you to wright longer letters this way you have got of wrighting one and two pages wont do. you can say to Uncle Tom that iff Sister Sally 48 wants Amand 49 next year to let her keep her. And as to Wilson he can make whatever disposition of him that he likes to do withe him as he would withe one of his own And tell him that I would write to him But Bro Tom Bob & Capp have all written to him and that I supose they have given him all the news you must excuse all mistakes and write soon and dont forget to write a long letter. All the boyes joine me in love to you all

Your Bro Jno W. Hill
O. D. Sgt. Co. D
8th Texas Cavelrey

 

Footnotes:
47. Tom Gill was from Bastrop County.
48. Sister Sally was the wife of T. A. W. Hill who was a brother of Bob and John Hill. He was also a member of Terry's Texas Rangers.
49. Amand and Wilson were two slaves owned by John Hill.

Goldman, Pauline S., ed., Letters from three Members of Terry's Texas Rangers, 1861-1865, Unpublished MA Thesis, University of Texas, 1930.

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