Tuscumbia, Alabama
June 22, 1862

Dear Wife,

It is with the greatest pleasure that I take my pen to inform you that I am well and hearty I have not been so rugged as I am now since we crossed the Ohio River and I hope these few lines may find you in good health as I am also in good spirits. I will now tell you that I recd. your letter of the 4th today and was very glad to hear from you that you were all well. I will now tell you that Henry had a letter from George the day before yesterday and he said that he was well and in good spirits. He is in Camp Flattop on Flattop Mountain. He said that he was in a fight and he said that if they hadn't laid down they would have all been killed. There were three hundred for them and they lost 100 in killed, wounded, and prisoners, and of the rebels' 1500 and their loss was much heavier. Our boys lost everything they had.

I am glad to hear that Joe is well and his family also. I should like to get a few lines from Salome if possible and I would write to her in reply. I did not get the letter that Warner brought till after I got your other letter and so I thought I would not answer that one as I had answered the other before I got that one.

Lillie wants me to write a whole lot to her. I have not much to write. Only if she was with her pa they could go blackberrying together. They are now ripe and we gathered some and have baked us some pies, which make me think of home. They are very good and I wish you and Lillie and little Mary could help me eat them. I am glad that little Mary has got so that she can talk.

You want to know whether you should send Lillie to school or not. I would say this. There is time yet for her to go to school as I think she is too young yet and if she didn't care for her book that is natural for any one to get tired of a book, especially one so young. By and by I will get her another book or as many as she wants or if I don't you can and that will be better than send her to school to learn mischief and all kind of miserable actions. I am glad that Edwin learns fast. You said that if I had money never to go hungry which I will not do if I can get anything. I bought 50 lemons for $l.50 and sold them at from 6 to 10 cts a piece and I made 1 dollar and twenty cts. clear besides having all the lemonade I wanted.

You said I should keep myself clean which is impossible to do, but I keep myself as clean as I can. I change shirts every week and wash as often as convenient. I will now tell you that we got orders to return our clothes except 1 extra pair drawers l shirt besides the one on and 1 pr of stockings besides the ones we have on and one blouse or jacket and coat and a single blanket. Now all we have is a single blanket and blouse and the nights are very cold here, almost cold for frost. We had too much to carry on our horses and they are going to ship our things somewhere while we are to go on a long march or go on scouting expeditions and we do not know which or either. Time will tell. I do not know whether I told you that I lost them fine shirts which saved me the trouble throwing them away, also two pr. drawers, 1 pr boots that I found. I lost them on a march one night.

You say that you have not much to write. If you have not much, write a little. I see a great deal to write but it would take me too long to write it. But I would say are the nicest springs here I ever saw. There are three springs here at Tuscumbia that makes a larger stream than the Huron River. It is just seems as if a river is running out of a hill. There are more blackberries here than I ever saw.

There are some reports that the war is about closed and we are going on a march home, but I think that is too good to be true. The wheat has been cut these two weeks, which is light crop, but peaches there is no end and they will be ripe in five or six weeks. When we are on a march and want fresh meat we shoot hogs by the dozen and once in a while a sheep and if the officers would let us go we would clean out the old secesh. You told me that I should tell how Ivan Benkan carried. I will leave that till I come home. There is nothing wrong about him at present. I do not see him once a week.

I wish I could divide my luscious berries with you and those little birds as I used to do when I was at home. I got about 2 quarts of the finest berries I ever saw. They are as sweet as sugar and I have some that would not drop through an inch hole. I think I will stew some for supper.

There are none of the Centerton boys in our mess but Albert and Henry, but I am not sorry that they left us as we have a more civil mess than before. Some of the men say that our Co. is ordered into Camp to go on a march to Decatur, Ala. But whether it is true I cannot tell. It is not likely that we will ever get in any fight for our Regiment is used for picket guard and scouting parties. We get all kinds of reports here that the south is trying to compromise, sometimes that Richmond is taken and once that General Wood said that we would all be at home in time to harvest, but I put very little confidence in such reports. But I do think that the war cannot last much longer for they have not much more territory to run over for we have armies all around them and they must soon either fish or cut bait. They must either fight surrender or disperse into small squads to the woods and mountains and get back of us. There are daily some of them giving themselves up to our pickets, so I think the fighting is about over.

I wish you could see the peaches that are here. I never saw the like for peaches. And if we stay down here a month or six weeks longer, we will have plenty of ripe peaches and apples. And where the boys are now they have all the wild plums and blackberries they can eat and when they want fresh meat they go to some secesh and take a hog, sheep or calf just such as they can get hold of and they can trade anything they have to spare for butter and milk so they live quite well. You say that you have nothing to write that is interesting to me. Whatever you write is interesting to me for it is news from home. I have not much more to write this time and I must close this in hopes of hearing from you soon. I most forgot but I wrote in my other letter that I had a letter from father and he gave me the Henry County news. I wrote a letter about [it?] to you. It was the same day that I got your letter and I hope you have got it. I answered your letters, all but the 1 sent by Warner and I think I got all you wrote lately. At least I will write to you every time I get a letter unless some of them would be delayed and come behind time.

No more at present but remain your true and devoted husband,

George S. Kryder

Write soon and direct to
George Kryder
Co. I. 3rd O.V.C.
Wood's Division
Tuscumbia, Ala.