C.W. Love to his sister, January 15, 1862

Camp Alcorn Hopkinsville Ky
Jany 15th 1862

Miss E.T.G.Love:

Dear Sister:
I received your letter of Decr 22nd a day or two ago from which I gather the information that you had recd other letters from the boyssince you wrote it appears that they are with Price at Springfield Mo. whether McCulloch is at that place or not you did not say there has not to my knowledge been any fighting in Mo yet we can hardly get the truth about any thing here - I answered your other letter the same day it got to hand - I mean the one in the long envelope which was unsealed when it came to hand and did not have the appearance of having been sealed atall you should be careful to seal your letters if you do not wish them to be read by others than those you write toIn your last - the one this is an answer to you say that Joe Baker wrote to his father that he had not had his coat on during the day that he wrote and that it was the first cold weather he had experienced since he had got into that country of any consequence. The coldest weather we have had here was yesturday the day before and today so far - there has been a little snow and sleet but not enough to cover the ground and there has been but little wind with it except the first day when there was a little bluster from the North attended with some rain but it did not last long I believe however that it has been greatly to our disadvantage that we have had so warm and mild a winterthe little changes from cold to warm with the attendant dampness of the atmosphere has no doubt in my mind been the cause of so much sickness and death among us - The Regmt has lost up to this time about One Hundred and thirty men by death and about twenty five by discharge & several have gone home from the Regmt on furlough to try to get recruits for the Regt - I cannot however believe that there will be many recruits except from the purely patriotick motivesif the true state of things here is fairly represented to them they will at once see that their chances for dying of camp diseases is far greater than the chances of being killedon the field of battle - Sickness in the camp seems to be somewhat abated though not much -- and from what those who have been living in this country a long time say this has been a milder winter than usual up to this time but the worst of it is from about the first of this month on up to Marchif this should be the case this winter we have nearly all the cold part of it to go through yet -- but it may not be the intention to bring recruits here until Spring opens which I think is the proper time for Soldiers from the more Southern States to come I shall write a letter to Sam and John soon maybe it will get to them - write to me at all times immediately on receiving any news from them - a letter has just been recd from Jas Davis who was at Boling Green when he wrote he went from here to Boling Green to take clothes to the Limestone Co Boys. when he got there he waited a while to see the big fight which was supposed would take place right away but had not up to the time of his writinghe took sick after he went up there and after waiting some time for the fight concluded to start back home which he did some days ago I expect if so he may reach home before this letter gets to you in his letter from Boling Green he says the Limestone County boys had not died as badly as we had heard - we had had heard that one of the Lynch boys and one of the Peoples boys also were dead: but he stated that Peoples was not dead had been sick but was then so he could go about - I am now in the house of a Mr Bryan waiting on Geo Bradley Jno Womack and Georges old negro Cy. George has been threatened with inflammation of the Brain and since he got better of that he has been having periodical chills and fevers - he is not yet clear of his brain affection - the chills are about seven and fourteen days apart today was his day to have one but so far it seems to me he has had no signs of it and I think he will miss it entirelyJno Womack has been affected by a combination of diseases he is however nearly clear of most of them but will never be fit for service and I doubt if he will ever become able to walk much - he says his back was broke when he was a boy and that he has never been well of it sinceat this time he is unable to turn himself over in bed and we have to be careful in moving him to keep from hurting him.

Geo Blain is acting commisary for the Regmt and is generally busy coming and going to and from the camp to town for rovisions - Uncle A.C. is in the Hospital hard a work waiting on the sick of the Regmt as far as he is able. A.C. jr & Cousin John are staying at camp for the time in my messAndrew has been sick as I stated in a previous letter but was better until six or eight days ago when he took the Mumpshe is getting better of them nowRobe High is still at Clarksville --a few days before we got to Monroe La John Balch a son of Parson Balch who once preached for East Prairie folks got with ussince he got here he has learned that his father who it seems had been inclined to consumption for some time has diedJohn is now trying to get a discharge for the purpose of going home to take care of his mother but I do not know whether he will be able to procure one or not. Col Gregg has written on to the war department to get one for him if it can be done but has not received any information yet as to what would be done in the case -- Mssrs Leroy & Marcellus Moodys are getting wellCapt Moody has been suffering from Flux for the last five or six days but I think was some better this morning Mr W.T. Harris has had Measles which have affected his head or rather his earsone of them has been running for several days -- Burgess Modrell has been in pretty good health ever since he has been here - I would like very much to see you all for a few days and then come back again -- tell Ellen if I stay the three years out I will expect to see more besides herself and Jim about what I have to eat I told you in a previous lettergive me all the news of the country when you answer this --

Yours fraternally

C.W.Love.

Love Family Correspondence. Special Collections, Burnett Library, Texas Christian University. Fort Worth, TX. (TCU Box 298400)