NOTE: Disclaimer and explanation of formatting included at the end of this post.
Norwich Wednesday Aug 27 Dear Kate,
Robbert Smith, his wife,
and Hellen have just come upon the ground
and I improve this opportunity of writing you
a few lines. They tell me that you was at their
house viditing Monday and that you wanted
to have my likeness taken to send back by them.
I had intended to have had it taken before we
left here, but a guard is kept posted around
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the camp and passes are granted in rare cases and
then for only a short time. But I will have it
taken the first opportunity I have and send it by letter if
I have no other chances. We received our state
bounty of $50 today which together with the County
bounty of fifty, which we received last Friday, I
have sent by Uncle Robbert to Pa. I have not
much news today. We expect to leave here Friday
for Elmira, but are not ? for ?. There
is not as much sickness in camp as there was
last week. I believe there is not more [than] two or three
serious cases. Thomas Jones the Welshman who lived oposite
John Chasis? last summer? had his leg broken Monday
night by being thrown out of one of the Hotells
while drunk. He has been discharged and sent home
today. The same night, at about 1 o’clock, the cry
ran through the camp that a man had been shot
“Run for a Doctor, He is dying!” now were exclamations
that I heard. But upon investigation it turned out
that he had not been shot, but that he had been
knocked down with a stone. Drunkenness was alas the
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cause of that misfourtune. He was threatening the life
of another soldier who strook him in self-defense.
His wife now attends in his tent and I believe he
is improving. I am well and hearty though our
fare is not very flattering. Bread and beef is
all we have that is fit to eat. We expect to get
a portion of the government bounty tomorrow, some
twenty-five or thirty dollars. If I wish to send any
more home, I will send it either by letter or by
draft. You can do what you choose with the
hundred I have sent, but I would a little
rather you would let Pa have what you don’t
want. The half sheet I borrowed of Norman
so you see I have not much more room
to write. I received the letter you sent by
Norman. Have you heard from Dillazon since I
left home? Write often and write all the news
as soon as you learn my address.
yours ever P B Holdridge
Take good care of Freddie
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Explanation of formatting:
Effort is made to keep much of the spelling, line breaks, and page breaks preserved as shown in the original letter book on file with the William L. Clements Library. Some names of third parties and other select data sets are considered, with footnotes added. A question mark (?) will often indicate a word or letter that was not clear. It may be used to replace the word or letter. Other times it may show on the end of a word, if the transcriber was unclear about that specific word, but chose to transcribe it.
DISCLAIMER FROM AUTHORIZED PHOTOCOPY:
-
PHOTOCOPIED FROM ORIGINAL IN WILLIAM L. CLEMENTS
LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, PERMISSION OF
LIBRARY DIRECTOR REQUIRED FOR REPRODUCTION, USE, OR
PUBLICATION. DEPOSIT OF THIS COPY IN OTHER
INSTITUTIONS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
This copy originally authorized to be kept in “family genealogy holdings”
as per permission from Janet Bloom, Research Specialist
William L. Clements Library - 19 February 2009.
In August 2011 permission to publish "a typed transcript... to my publicly accessible ... family tree websites" and "Provide copies of my photocopy to any interested relatives" was granted.
PHOTOCOPY ACQUIRED, TRANSCRIBED, AND SHARED WITH PERMISSION.
COPYING OF TRANSCRIPT REQUIRES PERMISSION OF TYPIST,
MICHAEL W. MCCORMICK, AND MUST FALL WITHIN NON-COMMERCIAL
FAMILY HISTORY PURPOSES. OTHERWISE CONTACT THE ORIGINAL REPOSITORY.
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