Battle of Chattanooga- November 23rd, 1863

Dear Mark (Stephanie Lde),

I would first of all like to remind you that you will always be my friend no matter what. No war can separate the two of us. It is depressing as hell that we are on opposite sides of the war. I hope that after the war we will be the same friends who hung out every day by the beach laughing like crazy men. This is why I am writing you this letter; I want to share everything I can with you. You are not my enemy Mike; you are still the same person to me. I cannot be against you because you have not chosen to be a confederate. It is impossible for me to live in a divided world. I am terrified and miserable. Every time I hear a bullet my heart stops beating for a second. I just wish the war will be over very fast.

Every morning when I wake up from the noise of the drums I wish all of this was a big dream, but when it comes time to gather all the weapons together I know for sure I am living in reality. It is so dark when we wake up because it is only 5’ 0 clock. My back aches and I hardly get sleep in the night because of the stupid dog tents and all the smoke from the campfires. Last night it rained, and one of the union soldiers got a terrible cold. I am lucky that it did not happen to me, although all of us must be careful. I am worried about you, my friend. Please take care of yourself, because I know that some of the confederate soldiers do not even have tents. Being a confederate, however, is good in some ways. You guys don’t have the extra load to carry around with you. I have to wear an itchy blue, wool uniform. Before the color used to be dark blue, but later on it was changed to a lighter shade of blue. At least it’s not grey like yours. I also carry with myself a blanket roll, a poncho, socks, paper, stamps, envelopes, ink, pen, a razor, a toothbrush, and many other personal items. I am very grateful to my mother for the cotton shirts and undergarments she sends me. I don’t think I have been more grateful to her in my entire life.

Today was the first day of war. After the drill I did not do anything. Well, I did but all I did was gather wood for cook fires and fed the horses. Since then a couple of other soldiers and I have been free. We have started to play a game called “football.” It is a very strange game, because we don’t even use our feet to kick the ball. Instead we end up with broken noses and injured legs. I have to admit, though, that it is one of the most fun games I have ever played. After football, I was so bored I went to rest in the dog tent. There are a few nice soldiers that I have met. There is a really nice guy, his name is Bob. He has become a really good friend. He is the only one who knows about Brownie. Yes, I brought my pet dog Brownie with me even though no pets are actually allowed. I had to bring Brownie with me; he reminds me of peaceful memories from home. Bob entered the dog tent and I woke up. He felt sorry for waking me up, but it wasn’t his fault. He asked me if I wanted to go over to his tent and play cards with the other folks. I washed my face and spent the rest of my evening playing cards. At dinner we were served baked beans and rice, our favorite. We finally got a cooking pot with a lid, so we might get baked beans more often. After dinner, a few of us sat around a campfire and we sang our favorite song, "Tenting on the Old Campground.”______

Oops, sorry about that line. General Ulysses S. Grant just entered my dog tent to make a few announcements. President Abraham Lincoln was the one to appoint General Grant as the commander of the Union. General Grant had to replace General Rosecrans, who led the Battle of Chickamauga. We have around 40,000 soldiers, including troops from General Sherman's Mississippi army and General Hooker’s soldiers from Virginia. Did you hear us screaming "Chickamauga?” I feel like an idiot doing that, but I have to anyways.

Mike, I have to end my letter now. General Grant wants us to prepare for tomorrow. He says it will be a big day tomorrow. I have to keep all of my equipment in order, otherwise I have to stand extra hours on guard duty. I have to organize my weapons. My most reliable gun is the1861 Springfield Rifle-Musket. I use the bayonet part of the rifle as a candle holder and also as a coffee bean grinder. Ha ha. We get the coffee beans but we have to grind them ourselves. The rifle weighs eight and half pounds and it gives people such horrible wounds. I hate even looking at that stupid gun, but what can I do?

Listen, I have wrapped up some money along with this letter, and please accept this as a brother. I cannot stand fighting against you, and I want to help you as much as I can. Confederates don’t have sutlers, and it is difficult for you to consume some stuff. This is why you must not refuse this money.

I hope to hear back from you, Mike. Remember you will forever be my friend. Good luck for the coming days.

Truly yours,
John (Sandhya Parwani)