Jackson, JW to George Hobson
Sample of his handwriting:
Letters to George Hobson from JW Jackson (typed as written) –
should be photo to go with it
“Camp at Calhoun, Ky. November the 30th 1861,
Dear Friend it is with pleasure that I seat myself this
Morning to write you a few lines to Enform (sic) you how I am getting a
long. I am mending but am not Able for Duty
yet. I hope when those few lines comes
to hand they may find you injoying (sic) good health. I received your letter yesterday which was
grate (sic) satisfaction to me to here (sic) from you. Thare are five Regiments here and we are
looking for two or three more to Come here in a few days. Thare are over one hundred Artillery
Men. They have several Large Guns but I
do not now how many and thare are a bout Twelve Hundred Caverlry here we donot
think we are in any danger here at all for the Sesesh are always Twenty five or
Thirty miles off. We have not had very mutch (sic) Cold weather here yet, it
has been very cold for the last three or four days, and it was snowing last
Night. Thare are not mutch danger of us freesing for thare is an old stovepipe stack
up at the side of every tent and a nice blasing fire on the inside. Javin (? As to this word) Stafford is still
at Evansville in the Hospital yet we have not herd from him since we left
thare. They are talking of forming the Brigade here. The Cavelry had a little
brush with the Secesh and took a Gun that shot 18 times. I have nothing very
interesting to write at present write Soon and Direct to Evansville, Ind. 31st
Regt Ind Vol Co I (J?? hard to read) in Care of Colonel Crupt. Yours. Respectfully JW Jackson (to) George
Hobsons
Getts burg (?) Tennessee March the 20. 1862.
Dear friend it is with great pleasure that I seat my self to
pen a few lines to you to let you know how I am at present I am well with the
except of a bad cold. I received your
letter yesterday which was great pleasure to me to here (sic) from you all we
got on a boat at fort henry (sic) the 7 of march and we got of (sic) the boat
the 15 we come up the Tennessee river we are near the Mississippi line the is
at the strong force of the rebels at the lilroad 15 miles from where we
are. I suppose to are coming from
manasee here and if the are we will have a hard fight. But from what I can learn we have too hundred
thousand strong. I hope we will flax (?) them out in short time we have got too
months pay since I saw you and I expressed 20 dollars home and I don’t think it
will be long until we will draw again and if thare is a chance I will send it
home. I don’t need much money here and if I get home I will need it and if you
can get anything from Abraham Pratt that James will take you better take it and
and pay him. I intend to have all my
depts payed when I get home and that is as soon as they can expect mee (sic) to
pay them.
Murfreesboro Tenn August 5th 1862
Dear sir I take my pen in hand to let you know that I am well. Davis is not very well yesterday & today he has the diahrrea but will probably be all right by tomorrow. Mr. Turner is well. He is A good soldier & stands hard ships better than some of the boys. I received your letter yesterday bearing date of July 20th I was glad as I always am to hear from my friends. Now I must tel you our where abouts we have been on the Guard (?) ever since I have been with the Regt we left Athens Alabama on the 9th of July took up line of March at 5 p.m to the north ward we marched until 12 o’clock in the night and the dust was so thick that we could not see the third man before us but we moved on without any good water to wash the dust down with then the next day went 10 miles & stopped at Elk River where we was to stay & help the enjineers to build A RailRoad Bridge that the secesh had burned we was there just in the edge of Tenn after staying there 2 days we was ordered to strike tents this done at p.m. we made tracks for the north along the Nashville RRoad after going 3 miles we past through at Tunnell ½ mile long through the hill in the night & at the Distance of ten miles we came to the turn Pike where we stopped for the night the next day we past Pulaski A nice little town with A larg cotton factory thare we went on to Reynolds station ten miles where the cows (?) could run on to Nashville we was there one week & made the Green corn & potatoes squat but on Monday the 28th of July we struck our tents put every thing on the cans & got on top of the bot cans our selves we then started for Nashville over souse (?) very nice country all in corn & cotton which looks well the first town we came too was Columbia A beautiful place with considerable of education interest we saw A large Athenian besides other lofty towers one town the next was of the town was place was not qite so large as the former place the next & most important place we came too was Nashville. We got there at 5 p.m. got off the train which was pleasant after riding 70 miles on the top of A box car we then went out in the suburbs to see A spring where we past the night. Next morning the word came to us that Wilburn Collingsworth was ded he was in the Ambulance yet on the car we buried him in the cemetery the nicest buring place I ever saw we buried him with all the honors of war he died after a short illness with camp chalice ?
April the 3rd 1863
Camp near Murfreesboro Tenn
Often remember friend I seat myself to answer your kind
which I have just received which I was vary glad to here from A friend well
more your kind letter found me well and harty but I feel vary stupid and sure
we have bean out on A scout and have just got in we started night before last
at eleven o’clock and turned (? Truneld?) twelve miles by daylight whare we
fund ourselves near A town by the name of woobery (?) whare we attacted A force
of rebels. Five hundred strong we captured about forth I think and wonded several
and kild fore. We captured some watons
and several other things to tedious to mention. We captured several orses and
we got back to camp about five oclock and think we had one man wounded our
regiment was not engaged more than skirmishing and that was about all that any
of them was engaged thare was no regular ingagement thare was considerable
skirmishing we did not have A man hurt in the 31st. The last joke
was that some of thare officers lost his saddle bags and that was full of cakes
and pise and buskits (?) thare was some of the most butiful cakes that I ever
saw. I took them in and had A fine dinner. Thare was several of them (may be a
line missing in the xerox copy) but own kin.
Our overcoats on and then the owed them as they run we have orders to
start at revalerie in the morning with five days rashens. I cant tell you whare
we are going to I will tell you in my next letter how we come out. I think the southern confederacy will soon
play out the prison looked vary hard tha are almost naked and I think tha are
almost starved out. I don’t care how soon it plays out but we can fight them as
long as tha will fight. I did not inlist to fight to free the neegroes but if
we can have free by freeing them I saw let them be free I am in favor of using
all means to put down this rebellion I am confident tha we can never have peace
while tha are in bondage. I wish that
the thirty-first could come home and clean out to fight to free the slaves but
I am in favor of doing anything that will end this rebellion. I am vary sorry
to learn that thare so many rebels in the north as thare is but if we could git
home we would soon make union men of them we don’t respect them as much as we
do those of the south. I do not feel like writing today and I will close hoping
to here from you soon. I don’t expect
you can read this write soon as you get this. John W. Jackson George Hobson.