Camp Nashville Tenn
Oct the 7 /63
My Dear Wife
I will try and write a few lines to you to let you know that I am well. We have had a long jurney. I wrote a letter when we was in Bellair. We went through Columbus and so into Indianna to Indianapolis. We got there Sunday morning and lay there most all day. I went to a negro meating and heard a smart serman if it was black and better singing I never heard. They were all verry neatly dresed. We was well treated in Indianna. Most every station there would be pye and cake. All we could eat. Ohio done verry well but there is more coperheads in Ohio. We came through a verry nice country. We croosed the Ohio river at Jefersonville on a steamboat into Luisvill Kentucky. We came through Kentucky. In Tennessee we could see a diference. As soone as we got in the slave states nothing in order nor scarcely eney building. The troops have all gone to Chatanooga except our regt. We was detailed here for something I dont know what for but I guess to guard a wagon train through to Chatanooga. It is 100 miles. They say we will stay here at least two weaks and perhaps longer. I expect there will be a hard battle fought at Chatanooga before long. We may get out of it by being detailed here. It depends how long we stay here. We haint had eney mail yet and I dont know when we will get one. Not till the brigade gets setteld.
I never wanted a letter more than I do now. It has ben a good while since I heard from you. I suppose you are getting ready to go east. I wish I was there to go with you but I am father from home now than ever. I suppose about 1500 miles and I dont know but futher. The weather is quite cold here now. Every thing is high here. The mail train was fired into yesterday but dident stop it. The guirlies are thick in this country. There is some colerd troops here. They look as though they might fight well and I think they will. There is a good meney deserters from the reb army. There was about 200 took the oath of aliegence this weak. The hospitles here are full of wounded soldiers that were wounded in the last battle and a good meney prisoners. I see some of them on the train. They was Longstreats men. They knew the star corps and want to know if it was following them. I guess it will make its apperance at Chatanooga in the next fight. They say they would reather fight eney other corps than the star corps as they call it. I cant write again untill I get a letter. I hope it wont be long for I want to hear from you verry bad . Write often as you can direct as before and I will get them. I send my love to you. Kiss the children for me
Good buy Dear Charlotte
Charles Engle
Note: Copperheads were northerners sympathetic to the southern cause
Guerrillas