With the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry
Army of the Cumberland
Mossy Creek, Tennessee,
January, 1864
One does not quit in the middle of the fight, Asa vowed and having been promoted to Corporal six months ago he and those of his unit who were considered eligible and so inclined, reenlisted for the duration. He had made up his mind to see this through to the end. Having a few minutes free later that afternoon he sat down to do something he’d been thinking about for some time now.
“Dear Miss Kunkle,” Asa licked the end of the stub of pencil he held in his hand and thought for a moment. That sounded too formal he decided. After all we’ve known each other since we were children. She’ll wonder what’s happened to me. Heaving a sigh he hunched over the small slip of paper he had liberated from the last shop he and his mates had torched earlier. Crossing it out, he started again…
“Dear Friend,” that didn’t sound right either…she might think he’d forgotten her name.
“Dear Miss Becky, please forgive me for being so clumsy but you are so much in my thoughts right now that I don’t know how to address you properly. It seems like a lifetime since I have seen you. I’m not sure you would recognize me any more. I hardly recognize myself. We passed through this town this afternoon and I saw myself in the mirror in the barbershop. Skeered me half to death! My hair is long and ragged-looking and my beard is bushier than old Mr. What’s-his-name up the road from you. You know who I mean? We kids were sort of afraid of him. The boys here are getting’ reel tired of all this marching and sleepin’ on the cold muddy ground. I do have to say the food has been better since we’ve moved down out of the mountains and into good farm land. Movin’ so many of us like we do is quite somethin’ to see. Lucky me, I still have my horse, since I’m cavalry and ridin’ is a lot better than walkin’, I’ll tell you that. We have been doin’ a bit of fightin’ these days and I sure do hope it is helpin’ to bring this to an end. Not too much more to say. One day is pretty much like the other. I sure do miss you and home of course, but it will feel strange to be there with Granny and the others gone.
It’s been awhile since we’ve had any big battles, I suppose we should be thankful for that. Seems like all we have to do is just keep plodding along. Every now and then Johnny Reb takes a run at us and we give them as good as they give us. Nobody here can see any sign this business is anywhere near done with. The people we see as we pass through their towns are understandably not very friendly unless we have something they want from us. Sorry, I don’t imagine you want to hear about that. I just felt like I wanted to sit down and talk to you like we used to every once in a while. I’m not very good at talking, especially to girls but you already know that. You were the only one I ever felt understood what I was trying to say. Do give my best to your Ma and Pa. I don’t hear from Tom very much so I have no idea how he and your brothers are. We did get some news about that nasty business at Gettysburg but I have no way of knowing if my brother Thomas and your Wesley came through it okay. Has George been paroled yet? Sure hope so. Those southern prisons are nothin’ but hell holes, I’m told. Pardon my swearing. I’m okay. My time was coming to an end soon but I’m thinking like my Grandpa always said, no way should you walk away from a job that isn’t finished so this is to let you know that I have reenlisted in what they call the Veteran’s Volunteer Corps and that I am now Corporal Hickok. How about that? Those of us that signed up have been given a thirty day furlough so we can go home and try to get new recruits to help us finish up this nasty business. Like I said about my Grandpa, I’ve promised to stay until this is over. Can’t be soon enough for me, I admit, but I think he would approve.
It sure will feel good to be comin’ up the road and see you standin’ there…I sure do hope you will be standin’ there, Miss Becky. It won’t seem right to me if you’re not. I better close and hurry to catch the courier before he leaves. He don’t wait for any one. So I’ll say goodbye for now. Your friend always, Asa Hickok