Click here for this soldier’s biography:
https://micivilwar.com/authors/knowles-john/
Regiment: 28th Michigan Infantry
Battles Mentioned:
Historical Figures: Jefferson Davis, John B. Hood
Nashville Tennessee Dec 29th 1864
Dear Mother I take my pen in hand
to answer your kind letter that I received on
Christmas day and I tell you that I was
glad to hear from you to hear that you
was all well that is one fine blessing
if we allways could realize good health
but I cant say that for this country
for it is pretty sickly down here at
presant it may be on the acount
of the weather being so changeable
it will get cold in the evening and maybe
it will snow before morning and the
next day it will warm and rain and
be mud knee deep it is warm here now
and pleasant and the mud is mostly
dried up but as general thing it is
pretty muddy all the time the cavalry
and government teams keep the mud
pretty well stirred up well mother I think
we have got in winter quarters now
we have drawing big Sibley tents big
enough for fifteen men to bunk in
and got a Sibley stove in them
and everything fixed up for winter quarters
so I think we will stay here this winter
now mother you wanted to know how
we got along in that fight I will tell
you what we had to do the morning
that the fight commenced our men
was ordered out to the front and
placed behind breast works in rear
of the army and had to hold a fort
and after they fought three days our
men had to be bury the dead that was
killed on the battle ground in this
battle we took about fifteen thousand
prisoners and 51 big guns
and a great many muskets besides a
good many other things and we
captured part of their wagon train
old Jeff Davis sent a dispatch to
general hood to take Nashville or
leave all his men dead on and around
Nashville or go to hell well they didn’t
take Nashville but they had to retreat
and get away as fast as possible or
they would be taken we gained a
complete victory over the rebles our
killed and wounded was heavier than
theirs because we had to make
charges on their breast works while
they was pretty well fortified in their
breast works
mother am almost ashamed to send
this letter home but it is the best I can
do to day for it is the best paper that
I have and you must excuse my poor
writing for I have a poor chance to
write mother we are a guarding Rebles
prisoners and we will guard
them all winter I think they are
savage looking fellows. I tell you
mother I would have written you before
but the same night that I got
your letter the railroad bridge was
burnt down by the rebles across
salt river on the Louisville and
Nashville railroad and they just
got it repaired last night so the
cars run through when you
write again write something about
Norton family for he is ancious to
hear from them and write more
particulars about home what you
are a doing and so on Norton
has wrote a good many letters and
rec no anser and he wants to no
if they are sick nothing more
but write soon I send my best
respects to all J P Knowles to Sarah Knowles
