Fort Worth, Va.
January 24th 1865
Dear wife,
It is a pretty stinging cold night tonight. I have just been out & got an armful of boards & I have got a pretty comfortable fire. One of our boys went off to the hospital tonight and one came back to this company from the General Hospital. He was up with Mr. [Thomas W.] Jenness — Mr. Graham — I don’t know as you knew him. You have probably heard of Mrs. Graham.
Capt. [James McDavitt] was taken sick yesterday & the doctor thought he would have a Rheumatic fever but he is better today. I think he will get along without going to the hospital. There are quite a number of the boys ailing now. [Benjamin] Churchill — one of our cooks — is cold & threatened with fever tonight. I shall give him a good dose of ginger tea & see if we cannot warm him up.
My furlough [request] has gone into headquarters tonight. If it comes as soon as it ought to, I shall be at home about Saturday night if I have good luck.
It is now past 11 o’clock. I have just come back from the widows. I promised [Sgt. Timothy] Merritt Newhall that I would go with him down there tonight so he & DeWitt [C. White] called in & I had to leave my writing & go. We had a very pleasant time. She is a very fine lady — well educated & of the first class of society. They have suffered a great deal since the war commenced. It seems kinder hard to hear her relate her sufferings but all this must needs be. We had quite a time getting down there & back. It was tremendously slippery & poor road or rather no road at all. This woman’s husband died about a year ago & she is left in rather trying circumstances. She may have property enough but it is in such shape as to perplex almost anyone.
I have as usual been to Washington today. Got back about 2 o’clock and have been at home since. I shall make all preparations now to start for home as soon as I get my furlough. I just begin to ___ about going home. I have not thought much about it before but I must bid you good night for tonight as I am getting a little cold.
January 25th about 8 A.M. — I will now finish out this letter. Mr. Graham has just come in. He is looking well but her says Mr. Jenness does not get much better. He appears to have that hacking cough. He is about the same as he was the last time I saw him.
It is as splendid morning this morning. And if the wind does not begin to blow, we shall have a regular spring day. Capt. [McDavitt] says that he is better this morning but his Rheumatics have not left hi, & he may be sick yet. I shall go to Alexandria by & bye. I want to wait till the sun gets up a little so as to soften the crust a little. I feel well as usual & probably a little better on the anticipation of soon being at home with you. There are a great many rumors here in camp. Some of the time we are going to move down toward the front &c., &c. But we are here yet & I don’t see anything but we are likely to stay here at present. The men are at work shingling the buildings over my head & they keep rattling the dirt down on to me. I hope they will get it shingled up before it rains again. They got nearly drowned out in the mess room.
It is now ½ past 8 & I have not been down to breakfast yet. I guess I will go & eat & then perhaps I shall think of something else to write.
There, I have just been out & got my breakfast & I had a good one too. I had the tenderloin laid aside & I fried that in the dry spider & then took some cold potatoes & warmed then up in some butter & a cup of coffee. It did not go bad.
I shall have to get some money when I come home if we don’t get paid off soon. As I have to charge so much my funds are getting low. I rather think that we shall get paid off by the 28th of February as this is the time that 32 dollars of our Q. S. Bounty becomes due and they will be most likely to pay the Q. S. pay too. If I could only get our company savings money, that would help out pretty well. I shall have to have some when I come home if I can raise it anywhere I can make it pay to a pretty good advantage. I shall feel easy to go home & leave B[enjamin] B. Brown [in charge]. He is a very trusty man. The more I see him, the better I like him. A man just paid in a 50 cts. note which I shall enclose in this. This may not get home before I do. I guess that this may be the last that I shall write till you see me.
My love to all. Yours in love, — J. W. Piper
Tough as a Pitch Pine Knot 