December 8th 1862

Camp near Abberville, Miss. Dec. 8th 1862

Dear Mary,
I take my pen to reply to your kind letter of the 27th uft.(?) Which came to hand to day. I was glad to hear that you were all well, I am well as usual and in fine spirits. I have plenty to eat, drink, and wear, and have comfortable quarters to stay in. We have plenty of fresh meat, both beef and pork, chicken and sweet potatoes. I hope you will worry no more about me on that scene.
I paid all the tax on that land in the west, and have or had receipts to show. Don’t let anybody have the receipts unless the one that gets them gives you an attested copy of them. I got a letter from Mr. James today proposing to trade land, I return you the letter, also my reply to him, so you can see his proposition and mine. I don’t want you to agree to anything that will result in injury to yourself and the children. I intend to write Ammon and if he can raise the money, and wait till I can pay him, I am going to try and get him to attend to the matter. If you can get him to take your claim on uncle AH (?). I think you had better do so, so as to save all the money possible. If I can get my pay from the government soon, I can send forty dollars home. If I don’t get it till the first of January and then get it all, I can send home sixty dollars. You can cut off my reply to Mr. James and give his to him and keep the one he sent to me.
I am going to send you some more mistletoe, which you can divide with aunt Ann, Cynthia, and Martha, that is if you have enough to spare. If I get my pay soon, I will try to get my likeness to send you. I believe I can think of nothing more to write about to you today. I will try to write a little to Edgar, and a little to aunt Ann. Kiss Elmer for me, write soon and remember your Milt.
Dear Edgar,
I take my pen today to answer your kind letter dated Sept. 27th , but I suspect you meant Nov. 27th, but that’s a slight mistake, only two months. I was glad to learn that you are well and that there was a prospect of getting to go to school this winter. I was also glad to learn that Elmer had taken a few steps, I hope that he will walk pretty soon. Did you see the eclipse of the moon last Friday night? I went on guard duty at 2 O’clock in the morning and the moon was totally eclipsed and had been for more than two hours and remained so for sometime after I went on guard. I think I will send you some gourd seeds, plant a part of them right away in some fence corner. That is if the ground is not froze too hard, and save the rest to plant in the spring. Be a good boy and write soon.
Father.
Aunt, where is cousin John and what is his address?
Dear Aunt,
I take my pen today to write you a few lines. I was sorry to hear that you had sore eyes, but more grieved to learn that you had a burden on your heart, for that is harder to endure than bodily affliction. Perhaps I am not aware of all the grounds of your sorrow, but if it is only what you allude to concerning cousin Jake. I advise you to dismiss you anxiety for him, for if he has been so unprincipled as to desert the army in the hour of his country’s peril he is not worthy. That a single anxious thought or a tear of pity should be bestowed upon him. As to those who have been instrumental in persuading him to degrade himself in the eyes of all good people both from time present and time to come, a fearful retribution awaits them. I envy not the name they are getting for themselves, even if justice is cheated of it just dues.
We have but little war news now, our cavalry have advanced some forty miles and report no rebels near.
Write soon and often to your affectionate Nephew,
C.M. Adams


With comfortable quarters and regular rations, C.M.A. turns to the mundane tasks of grappling with issues of running the family farm. He is just two weeks shy on one year since he enlisted. The days of long marches and short rations are over for the time being.