Franklin County: David R. P. Shoemaker to Henry A. Bitner,
February 22, 1863
Feb. 22 '63
Camp near Nashville, Tenn.
Dear Henry:
Yours of the 18th ult. is at hand,
having been forwarded
from Somersville, Va; and I will
have to answer it in brief to=night, as we are under
marching
orders for to=morrow morning at 3.30, and
I do not know when
I shall have an opportunity
of writing again. Our destination is unknown to
your
humble servant. I do not know of any regiment
in the service which has been moved about
quite as much as
the "Gipsies," as Genl Wise used to call us.--
I am glad to hear that you
are having good times
in old Southampton. Do not imagine that
the
toils and privations of a soldier's life have made
such a misanthrope of me
that hearing of those
good things you describe would cause "hard
thoughts." As far as
wishing myself out of the
army is concerned I have wished it long ago,
but shall
only get out honorably--either an honorable
discharge or death.
Give my "Best" to all the friends and espe=
cially
remember me to "Katie darling." How I wish
that instead of lying down to=night with my cold
and bony masculine bedfellow, and being bothered
by
those parasites which even poor soldiers have, I
could have the pleasure of folding -a--
what
in the D--l was I going to say? The tattoo
[page 2]
has just commenced to beat, and I must close
as taps will
beat in 15 minutes for "lights out".
Your old friend
D.R.P. Shoemaker
P.S. I think our destination is Cumberland
Ford, Kentucky.
D.R.P.S. P.P.S.- Carthage, Tenn. Feb.
28, 1863
We are here. Direct your letter via
Galatin, [deleted: Ky]
Tenn.
