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The following are two letters from Morris to his wife sent while Morris was stationed in Rolla, Missouri:
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| Guarde Tent Fort Delta, Company I |
| 49th Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers, Rolla Mo. |
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| May 7, 1865 |
| My Dear Wife |
| Sunday has come again and I will try to write you another letter but I have not much news to write only I am well and think that is a great deal for we have a good many sick in our regiment. The warm weather has commenced and it is really hot today, but we have cold nights. So cold that I need my overcoat on guard. My beat comes on from 11 til one and from 5 until 7 in the morning and 11 until one at noon and c for 24 hours. Then we have 24 hours to ourselves except drill for 2 hours and cleaning our guns and clothes and blacking our boots which takes about all the time but the work is not hard as we do not have to travel far on our beat as we are on top of our fort. |
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| The news that we get is still encouraging about our going home. The news last night was that we were to leave the state by the 25th of this month and I think we shall go north for we are not wanted in the south any longer except to go to Texas. There are recruiting agents all over the country here to get men to enlist and go to Mexico. I expect old Jef Davis has gone there and wants to get recruits to kick up a row there. They offer large bounties and cash down to enlist. From $300 to $1000. |
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| I want you to write me how Robert gets along and how the colts do and all the news you can think of as often as you can. I know it is quite a task for you to write but if you write oftener it will come easy and it is all the comfort I have to read my letter as I get them from home. I do not complain now for I think you do well and if you write as often as you have I think you do first rate as you did not write more than 3 or 4 a year before I came away and that almost killed you. |
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| The boys and most of them gone about 1 and a half miles to a brook to swim. I am here with only 20 men to take care of the fort. The rebellion is played out here and the Bush Whackers are all coming in and delivering themselves up. Every paper we get has account of their capture of some of them getting killed. There is only a few left and they shoot them down like dogs whenever they find them. |
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| We are of no kind of use here only to eat up the stinking meat and other things government has here to save them from the trouble of bringing it for if it stays in the air long it would make the people all sick. But my stomach is strong and will digest cast iron. A man that gets back alive from here can make money then for he can eat cats and dogs and anything else he cannot sell. If I should get a good meal I think it would make me sick. Phebe how would you like a piece of dead mule or dog or something of that kind? I do not know as you would like some of our provisions if you could see them bring it to us in this old manure cart and an old niger sitting on top with juice running out and off of him. I rather think you would not relish it much. But I got so hungry I go in and shut up my eyes and fill up as the Old Woman said. |
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| I hire my washing done but it is not half done just thrown into the water and rung out again and drew and sent into camp only from 5 to 25 cents apiece. The water here is not fit to drink now the weather has got warm and the only way we can drink it is in tea or coffee. We have tea or coffee three times a day and bread and meat and for dessert we have boiled mule or dog or cat or the like. Bully living. When the R road washes away was on short rations for three weeks but got plenty now. |
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| The wheat here is knee high and everything looks like summer but I would not stay in this country if I was not obliged to for $1000. |
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| I have not anything more to write and what I have written does not amount to anything only to kill off the time. You probably will not find it very interesting but I will try to do better next time. Tell the children I should like to kiss them and hug them first-rate. |
| Good bye. |
| Morris S. Williams |
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| LETTER 2 |
| July 11, 1865 |
| My Dear Wife |
| I am going to write you another letter today to help kill time. I am still under the Lung case but not very sick. I am taking nothing but tonic bitters for medicine to try and get more strength. I am weak as a cat. I lay in my bunk more than half of the time. I do not think I shall be fit for duty again for some time. I certainly shall not if my strength does not gain faster than it has for the last week. I tell you the days are long laying around in this way. |
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| There are more rumors about going home. All I know about it is that this fort has been turned over and made a part of the St. Louis fort and they are selling off all the government property here and that looks as if we are not to stay long but there has been so many rumors that I do not believe any of them. |
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| When it comes our turn then you may expect to see me at home. I think it will come before a great while now. There were 100 government horses sold at auction yesterday and they sold for from $7 to $100 a head. There are to be 500 or 600 government mules to be sold today. There are buyers here from Illinois and all over the north. There are to be wagons and everything you can think of in the government to be sold here from one day to another until they are all sold. They say the guns are to be taken from the forts to be sent to St. Louis immediately. There is a great stir about something and may be when they are all disposed of we may go home. Good God I hope so. I can get along with soldiering well when I am well but it goes mighty tough when I am sick. But I suppose I can stand it. I shall have to anyway. |
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| They have shut down on our trading off our meat and now I have to buy pretty much all I have to eat. Now I am sick for I cannot eat the rations we have. I cannot think of much to write and will rest awhile. |
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| I commence again to write some more. You see by my writing that I made a mistake and you will have to read this the way I have numbered the pages. Walt Comstock is not break it up on him as it did on Hank Stienburger and me. But I hope he will be better soon if he does not he will have to go to the hospital. I hope not as it is a poor place this hot weather. There is so many there sick with disease you can think of and it smells terrible bad there. I do not want to go there if I can possibly avoid it. |
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| When you write me, write more about the crops and horses. I like to hear about things there if I am away. It is all the consolation I get reading your kind letters. I would write more to the children but I know they read all of my letters to you. I do not intend to write anything that will have a bad tendency to influence them to do anything bad for I want them to be good towards you and everybody else and do hope they will help to get a living. I feel the most anxious about Robert as he is just forming a character and I do hope he will form a good one. |
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| I am trying to do and be a better man than even I was before and I think I am. The rest may say what they have a mind to. I have a very good opinion of myself anyway. If I do not no one else does, but I cannot help it. I hope you will correct Robert if you see anything bad in him. I want you to talk to him candidly. I do not know as he does anything wrong but most boys are apt to know to much when they are at his age. I may not live to see him a man but if I do not I want him to make an honest and good man and be respected by all that know him. I must rest again and will write more in the afternoon at 3 oclock. |
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| I commence again on this space that is left and write some more on another sheet. You have been kind enough to send me some money and I suppose I must pay for it in writing some more. |
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| (Unfortunately, the remainder of this letter has been lost) |
