Letter from Ett dated May 30th, 1864
\ Monday, May 30, 1864
Plessis, NY
Dear Wallace,
I received your letter tonight and was glad to hear that you had got to Washington. It has been a long time since I wrote to you. I have got a your letters that you have wrote since you was wounded. I was sorry to hear that you was wounded but I feel thankful that it is no worse, it is bad enough now. You said you lost everything you had getting off the field, how did that happen did you get taken prisoner or how did you come to lose
everything you had. We heard that there was only 13 left of your regiment. I was afraid you was with the dead, but how glad I was to get a letter from you. You can guess. I wish you could get your discharge and come home to stay. How happy I would be. You must get a furlough and come as soon as you can and stay a long time. I can't write much tonight, it is most nine o'clock and all the rest is abed. We have very wet weather this spring. The farmers have not got near their sowing done yet. It is very wet now. You said in the other letter you wanted me to be more cheerful or try to be and let you hear
better news from me. Would you like to have me enjoy myself better when you are away and not care one cent about you, whether you lived or died. I was sorry to have you write as you did to me. Do you think I can be happy and to know that you was in danger all the time. I will try and enjoy myself as well as I can. I won't complain any more and will try and write as good news as I can. I had no one to tell how I felt but you. I will try and keep my feelings in my own bosom. Now dear Wallace don't think hard of me for writing as I have tonight.
I can't write any more tonight it is most ten o'clock now. Write as soon as you can when you get this. I shall look for you next week and I hope I shan't look in vain. How glad I shall be when you come. We can talk all the time. I wish you was here now. I could talk all night and not get sleepy at all. Lina talks a good deal about papas coming home. She says she will hug and kiss her papa. What will I do when you come, can you guess? Write as often as you can before you come. The time will seem long for me to wait. Good by dearest one.
Yours for ever
Ett vanamber to
Wallace vanamber
I shall not go to Russell till you come and we can go together. Ever true
( Throughout the previous letter from Ett to Wallace I have also 'modernized' her spelling somewhat. For a few examples news was consistently spelled nues, write & wrote were spelled rite & rote (coincidentally Wallace often spells them the same way), Ett obviously knew how to spell some words --since, field was spelled correctly -- though most or her writing seems to show a phonetic spelling. Regmint, engoy, wether, for regiment, enjoy, weather; wather for whether, wount for won't. Nuf sed ... this leter was engoyable to rite. )