[Liberty Warner to Aunt, January 3, 1862, Bacon Creek, Kentucky]
Camp Jefferson
Jan th 3rd 1862
Bacon Creek
Hart County, Ky
Dear Aunt,
I now sit down to write a long neglected letter. We are all well except John. WB [William Barber] has been sick, but is better now. It is raining now and has been ever since yesterday. We are 8 miles from Green River & 12 miles from the rebel pickets. It is reported that Gen. Buckner has burnt Bowling Green, but I guess that it is not true. Jimmy stands the marches very well. Elliott, I want you should write, write all the news. I have not time to write much more, for I must get supper. Liza, you and Mary must write. Give my love to Grandmother and Aunt Sarah & reserve a large portion for yourself. Good by this time. Write soon. Direct to Camp Jefferson, Bacon Creek, Ky Co H, 21st Reg. I got a letter from father. They are all well.
I am sound sound. I have myself and my mess mates. Together we are a band of brothers, our 12. Since I have owned 3 revolvers & 1 watch, just like I was in my trades I made [illegible] and have [illegible] with a genuine Colt 6. We had a good set of holidays.
L.P. Warner
[Liberty Warner, January 3, 1862, Camp Jefferson, Kentucky]
Camp Jefferson, Ky.
Jan 3, 1862
Dear Friends at home,
I received your letter of Nov 25 in due time and I was very glad to hear from you. I have written you more letters since, this making the 2nd and I am anxious to hear from you. I am stout and getting fatter than you ever saw me. My hide is near the color of a lemmon rine. We are at Camp Jefferson, 30 mi. from Elizabethtown, waiting to join old Buckner a slice if he dare make a stand. It is hard to tell whether he will or not. We have lots and lots of canon and howitzers to play on him.
Camp Jefferson Ky.
L.P. Warner
[Liberty Warner, early January 1862, Bacon Creek, Kentucky]
[Bacon Creek, Ky.]
[Early Jan, 1862]
Dear Friends,
I received your letter Jan 8th. It found us all well. I have also received several papers and very glad I was to see them to. We are staying at the old camp and it is a heaven contrasted with the mountains. We heard of the glorious victory at Mill Springs, soon after it occured. We ware all glad to hear the news.
The boddy of Zollicoffer pased through here a few days ago on its way to Nashville, accompanied by his surgeon and 2 captains, all of them being blindfolded. The surgeon left his horse at the depot, also his gum coat. I was on picket at the depot the day after the old rebbel pased through, so I had a look or two at the horse. He would make our Frank feel proud of his flesh the poorest day he ever saw. He was poor as a crow after 6 month sickness, on his back was a verry pretty saddle. The gum coat lost a good pair of scissors in the performance and if the surgeon on his return makes any inquiry, tell him they are in my napsack. I rather doubt his seeing coat, horse, or anything of the kind. The officers like horses verry much. I see the gum coat on a soldiers back a few days ago. There was bloody marks on the coat. A fellow has to keep his eyes skined or some of his benevolent brother soldiers will steal his verry eye-teeth out of his head. The Kentuckey pie vendors have to keep they stock pretty close. The soldier thinks of his belly more than anything else and woe to the pie or pone that comes in his way. And I never saw the man who could get redress for a missing pie, but I have seen the officers laugh over it. The people are mostly sesesh here, so it is not so bad.
I have endeavored to show
you the position of our brigade.
Grandfather will probably recognise
a 21st Reg 4 3 Batterys 6 Cavelry
[Liberty Warner, January 10, 1862, Camp Jefferson, Bacon Creek, Kentucky]
Camp Jefferson, Bacon Creek
Jan 10, 1862
Dear Brother,
I have written 2 or 3 letters since I have received any from home and I would be very glad to hear from you all. All of the Tontogany boys are well. Jake McComb was sick, but he is now well as ever. We have been resting some 4 or 5 weeks, about 8 or 9 miles from Green River or 30 from Elizabethtown. The camp we are in is called Camp Jefferson and it is fixed out pretty comfortable. We received our new tents yesterday. They are well ditched around and we have plenty of straw inside. We have got a nice little stove that can aford to keep us warm. And we have plenty to eat. We draw rations of hard crackers, pickle pork, sugar, coffee, rice, salt, and occasionaly potatoes, beans, vinegar, etc. When we were on the mountains we drew rations of milk when ever we come acrost any cows. We have not quite forgotten how to do it yet. I got a good dose of milk the last time I was on picket guard. The tents we roost in are cone shaped & are made of ducking. I will show you the positions of our tents (2 in a bunk, 12 in a mess). The Tontogany boys are in a mess together. I have laid off the tent as it is. The beds or bunks are occupied as follows, 1 & 2, Wm. Barber & Jake McComb, 3 & 4, John Barber & F. Burkhart, 5 & 6, L. Warner & James Barber, 7 & 8, Ike Van [Valkenberg] & Tom Custer, 9 & 10, Wm. Allen & James Burchstead, 11 & 12, George Barber & Christopher Grundy. A: gun rack, B: dish box, C: tools.
I do not know how long we shall stay here. It may be a good while. We want to collect enough men to just take prisoners Bruckner and his men. It seems that old England wants to try us once more and let them come. We might just as well lick them now as any time. We lick the sesesh this winter and the British next summer.
The boys send their respects.
Write to Camp Jefferson, Bacon Creek, Kentucky
21 Reg OVUSA
Mother must keep up her spirits, for I am doing well, and write to me often. I sent 12$ home by J.L. Curry. He sent it to his wife. Go there and get it if you have not done so all ready.
L.P. Warner
[Liberty Warner, January 18, 1862, Bowling Green, Kentucky]
Jan 18, 1862
Bowling Green taken not a man lost
Dear friends at home.
We are all well. We started from Bacon Creek rather unexpectedly. We started from Bacon Creek Feb 6 or 7, we stopped at Green River 4 days and from there proceded to Bowling Green. When we had got within 17 or 18 miles of town we heard that the rebbels were leaveing as fast as possible. Our artillery was ordered to the front and after putting their horses to the gallop 6 or 7 miles of the way, arrived in time to see the enemy about to leave with stores abord 5 trains. We planted a battery of 6 rifle steel guns, and gave them 75 rounds of shell. The shell set fire to the ware and engine houses, disabled a locomotive and killed 5 rangers. The rebbels then set fire to the wood in the tender, thus burning the heavily loaded train to ashes. The property destroyed was imense, 10 locomotives, 10,000 stand of arms, army stores of all discription. Probably the destruction could not be covered by $200,000.
The fortifications are almost impregnable, being 8 in number, all situated on the summit of high hills & so planted as to work together. The one I have endeavored to give you an idea of, the only one I have visited. The one on an adjoining hill is said to be 10 times as large and many times as strong.
L.P. Warner
AA: Magazines B: Cistern
C: Cemetery ground gate The numbers denote places for canon
D: Gate in back ground
EEEE: Palisades in background
F: Mound protecting gateway
February 8/62
L.P. Warner
Monday 19 Jan
At Green River a man died that belonged in our mess. He lived near Ann Bullises when at home.
The rebbels got of all their canon except one abord the burnt train. If the rebbels can't stand here, they never can any place else. We lost a man a few days ago. Excuse my poor grammar and scribbling. Poor pen, poor everything.
[Liberty Warner, January 26, 1862, Bacon Creek, Camp Jefferson, Kentucky ]
Sunday Jan 26, 1862
Bacon Creek, Camp Jefferson
Dear friends at home,
Sunday morning finds us all well as usual. I received your letter by mail 2 weeks ago. Also have sent by Doct. Squires about last Wednesday or Thursday. We are at Camp Jefferson yet and I do not know that we shall leave for some time. They want to be fixing things up about camp a little to nice to leaveing them very soon. Some of the boys immagine we stay here until spring, maybe so, maybe not. If we do leave, we go no farther than Green River. You see we are in the dark on all such points. The news boys come up from Louisville and sell us reading matter. Today we ware reviewed for third time by General Mitchell, today being a brigade review. The one before was a divishional and reviewed by Generals Buell, Mitchel, Sill, and aids. Such things are so common here that it is nothing at all any more. Rather nice at first, but the shine soon wares off.
These sharp nosed, sandy headed, gander legged Kentuckyans whose ambition is a log house, dirty young ones, 6 to 15 in number, a whife as motly as a pot pie, that even makes all their pies to sell and own 1 she-nigger, these think it verry nice, yes verry nice, to get a chance to sell sole leather pies, dog pones to vend, and all they know is to ask 2 to 3 times as much as anything is worth. But the boys beat them at times. They do not know a 5 dollar bill from a 5 cent rag. Our Tontogany box arrived 2 or 3 weeks ago. I found there a fine pair of stockings, a pair of mittens, etc. Much thanks for them.
To days ago we received new muskets. Co. H & Co. C being on either side of the colors were supplied with better muskets than others. The flanking Companys, A and B, use Enfield rifles.
Elliott, you and the girls must write often. You must all write a piece in each letter, all all write. Father, mother, brother, sisters.
L.P. Warner, Bacon Creek, Camp Jefferson, Ky.
All letters are forwarded to us, so it is no matter where you write to, I get them anyway.
Poor soldier as seen in our tent
[Liberty Warner, March 29, 1862, Camp Van Buren (Murfreesboro), Kentucky]
Camp Van Buren [Murfreesboro]
March 29, 1862
Dear friends at home,
I received your two very acceptable letters within 3 or 4 days of one another. They found us all well and in a pleasant camp 30 miles from Nashville and near a little town called Murfreesborough. We are at work on some of the burnt bridges destroyed by the Texas Rangers. These bring up the rear of the rebbel army. They burn or otherwise destroy everything that could be of any possible use to us. They lurk continually about the country, thieving about and watching the chance to slip in to our camp and spye. They picked into a Reg. of Dutch who ware out on picket about 6 weeks ago, but they left a pile dead men behind them. After they got enough, they came back under a flag of truce and had the satisfaction of packing a couple of wagon loads of dead Rangers, their Col. with the rest. Their brave Col. came to his death in the following manner. He spied on a lone Dutchman coming in & thinking him an easy booty started after him on the gallop. On coming up with him he struck & hit not the Dutchman but his gun, his sabre breaking in the performance. Bayonet spoke up then, & the Col. quit this country for a warmer.
I passed the ground, it was strewed with dead horses. Their present Col. is as brave as a lion. He managed to get a pass from Gen. Mitchell and has been in every Reg. in the division, but he cannot come it again.
Our cavelry bring prisoners every day or two.
And I, while I am away down here in Tinisee, I often think of my friends and home and rejoice to think of the time when I shall once more be a citizen and know that peace reigns & I believe that time fast approaching. Victory crowns our battles.
Affectionate,
Liberty P. Warner
Son & Brother
Direct your letters anywhere, I will get them.
March 29, 1862
Friend Foote,
I received your very acceptable letter a few days ago. It found me enjoying very excellent health. The weather is getting quite warm and spring has fully set in. The trees are beginning to put forth their leaves and blossoms. The grass is sprung up high to allow the cattle and horses considerable feed. A good many of our horses are very thin, so the little grass comes very acceptable to them. We have light bread now, so we have a grand time as well as the horses.
Yours,
L.P. Warner
Write soon.
