The Civil War Letters of J. W. Rabb

Nashville, Tenn., December 5th 1861

Melissa

Dear Sister,

I have just answered your two letters. The one that you rote at Austin dated Nov. 1 and the other that you roat at La Grange dated Nov. 14th. I rote to you yesterday. That is, I set down and rote two pages to you & two to Virge, and when I put them in an envelope to direct, I directed the letters to Virge instead of to you. In that letter I told you whare I was and how I was, but I suppose that it will not be amiss for me to tell you agan as I have plenty of time, and Virge may not send you your part of my letter for some time. Well, I believe that I will begin by telling you some thing about Bolin Green, Our camping ground. Bolin Green is a town something larger than La Grange, composed of stone and brick houses. We are camped about one mile from town. The country around town is wood land and old fields and some what more roaling than it is about Rutersille, some points being as high as the hill at Col. Moore's. All these highest hills around town are being fortifyed by throwing up rock or dirt and terfe walls and pickets and putting cannon behind. The Confederate Camp is scatered around town for ten miles. A regiment or two or three in a place, but right around town we are camped very thick. A river runs within a mile of Bolin Green called Barren river, about as large as the Colorado. They do not navigate it. We have daly communication with Nashville by rail road Train. The best information that I can get here, our forces here number thirty thousand. Gen. Johnson is our commander. Well, now about the Texas Rangers. We got to Bolin Green about two months ago. We laid inactive for about a week, waiting to get our horses. We enquired about the Yankys, and we were told that they were within thirty miles of us. When we got our horses, we were sent out to look for them. A company or two at a time. One company found about four hundred Yankys in a town. They fought them for a while and found them two many for them and came back to camp and got two companys more and went back there but the Yankys had left. They found some guns that they had droped in getting away. The next time we went out we had one hundred rangers & eleven hundred Arkansas Infantry and three piecies of cannon making twelve hundred in all. We were sent about twenty five miles in another direction to dislodge fifteen hundred Yankys that were in a town. Well, we went on there but when we got there the Yankys had smelt us and left. We then herd that they were on ahead about fiftenn miles further. We went there, but they wasen't there. We followed them that way for eighty miles, but we never could ketch them. We got three waggons & twelve horses and some guns that got in there way so that they colden't get along fast enough and had to leave. Many such excusions like these I could tell you about. We Rangers have been going all the time, eager to get into a fight, going through wet and cold, marching day & night. About this time, our Regiment got the Measles & neumonia in camp which thined the companys down so that each company could not send more than fifty or sixty on a scout. But we kept going what could go to look for the Yankeys. When we would get back to camps, we would enquire who had died, and they would tell us of this one and this one. Most always some had died, either in the Hospitle or in camps. I have never seen a tear or heard a sigh over a solgers grave, and all the funeral they have is the firing of twenty four guns over there graves. When the mess that I am in was organized, it consisted of twelve men. One of them is dead (Ed Eane). Seven of the balance are sick. I do not think that our regiment could muster more than three hundred & fifty men now that are able to do duty. The last scout that I was on, we got back on the last day of the last month. We were gone some eight days. We had a very cold wet time. One time I was on duty some forty hours, and I was wet the most of the time. When I started I had a very bad Diarhea, and it did not get any better, so when I got back to camp I was very bad off, and I had the plurasy in my side so me and one of my mess (Ell Norton, Tom Paton's half brother) and some forty others were started to Nashville to the Hospitle. We got to Nashville in the night, and me and Norton sliped off from the doctor and went to Mr. H. B. Plummers (Nortons coson). Here we have a good tight room with a fire place and a big fether bead to sleep in and a carpet on the flower and a negro to fetch us water and make us fiers & I have pretty well burnt the pleurasy out of my side with pepper and Number six and hot bricks. Give my best respects to Mother & Father Coltson, and give my love to Miss Sallie and tell her to be shure to wait for me that I am coming after her if I ever get back and am well. Tell her that I am going to get as many Yankeys as I can, and that I am going to do my best to keep them from getting me. Tell Miss Sallie to be sure and not marry till she hears that I am rubed out. Tell Virge not to leave there upon any consideration to go to the war. Tell him not to enlist till just before they go to draft him and only enlist for Texas service and for as short a time as posible. Kiss my Ma Ma for me.

John W. Rabb

Rabb, J. W., "We are Stern and Resolved: The Civil War Letters of John Wesley Rabb", ed. by Thomas W. Cutrer, The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 1987, pp. 185-226.

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