Click here for this soldier’s biography:
https://micivilwar.com/authors/wasson-john/
Regiment: 2nd Michigan Cavalry
Battles Mentioned:
Historical Figures: Frank C. Armstrong
Triune Tenn.
June the 18th 1863
Friend Mariette:
I take this opertunity to write you a letter. I suppose
by this time you will think I an not going to
answer your letter of last Feb. and I dont blame you
for thinking so. I am not going to make any excuse
only that I have not don it for I have none to make
of any kind whatever but I beg your pardon for my
grose neglect and I promis to do better in the future. I do
not think I can tell you any thing that will interest
you much as I suppose you know all the news long
before I could tell you by letter. We are at a little town
called Triune about 21 miles south east of Nashville
camped in a handsome peace of woods as you ever
saw. We have been here ever since the 2
nd of the month
the weather is verry warm now here and harvesting is
most all done, what little there is for there is but verry
little of any kind of farming going on here now
the country all around here shows the effects of the war
in its worst light. Most evry house is eather torn down
or burnt or turned into quarters for soldiers. The people
being sent beyond our lines the fences all burnt
up to cook the Soldiers rations. You can form no
idea of the destruction of property whitch this war has
cassed but there is this consallation that the seat of war
has always been kept right whare it belonged, in Dixie
there is hardly any one to be seen here but the Negroes
and most of them ar eather to work on the fortifacations
or drivering teams in the army. the belth of the Army is a
gooddeal better this Summer than it was last our army here is
in good condition and ready to meet the emny any day
the boys ar in fine spirets and all like the service better
the longer they ar in it I will now give you a description
of our Summer tents whitch we drew for the Summer Cam-
paign they consist of 4 peaces of cotton cloth about as
large as a comon sheet this is intended for 4 men they ar
buttoned together with buttons and then spred over a pole
on two catches drove in the ground and then staked as
any tent in being open at boath ends then when we want
to move camp they ar taken down and unbuttoned each of
the four occupents takeing his share of the Mansions
with him on horse back being not more than two pounds
weight we Call them dog tents because we have to
get down so low to get into them but it only takes us
about 15 minnets to get ready to goon a march and evry thing
along with us so you se that wharever the Soldier is he is
at home the rebbels ar verry still now for a fiew days back
and we have not had much to do all this week we have
been on duty most evry day since the first of March
we have Stood picket in sight of a each other all spring most
of the time we would have to stand two days at a time and
when we wer not on picket we were
not on picket ar most
always out Scouting the Country and watching the move-
ments of the enmy and hardly a week but we had brush
with then the made an attack on this place the 11th of
this Month they had five peaces of Artilery they threw
shell in to our camps over two miles of but they soon
found us ready for them and we had a runing fight
with them for about 8 miles we took a good many prisoners
from them our los is verry small only one being killed 10 or 12
wounded one of them has since died of his wond the 9th Tenn
1st Tenn Cavalry lost more than we did how many of
theres was killed I do not know for they ar allover the
Country we had a nother fight on the 4th of the Month with
Gen. Armstrongs Brigade of rebbel Cavalry this was one
of the sharpest fights I ever saw while it lasted we took
about thirty of them and Captured there Battle flag from
them I only wish you could have seen the dirty rascals run
we only had two killed and one wonded and this was done
on the first fire as we did not se any thing of them till they
let a volly in to our advance from a thicket of brush.
Cane Rosegrant is here now with the Company he sayes that
Thame is gone home I suppose he will spend the 4th in
Mich. all the rest of the boys ar well Marvin Crager has
been here this long time Ben Norton is came back a
fiew days a go he has been a prisner since last Dec.
he says he was in Jail at Knoxville Tenn 4 weeks
Theadore Carshile is came back to he was taken last March
they say that they wer treeted verry well except that
they shut them up in close confinement till they
pero
perroled them. they say that we ar going to back to
[
_?_]. agane they have formed a new Army Corps to
be called the reserve corps and our Brigade is in it
They say we ar going back somewhere to
the rear if this iso we will not have it so hard
for a while
with Miy best respects to all
enquiring friends
I remain your friend
John Wasson
