Soldiers going to Canada to avoid draft
Author
Recipient
Date Written
Oct. 2, 1864
Member of Series
Ellen Nellie Penly was 25 years old when this was written.
The recipient, Joseph Albert Penly, was 23 when it was received.
It was written 158 years, 5 months, 25 days ago.
It was a Sunday.
Lewiston
October 2nd 1864
My Own Dear Brother,
I received your kind letter last evening and was very glad to hear from you and to know that you are well and enjoying yourself, so far as we are well and at work as usual it rains here today and it looks gloomy. I do not like a rainy Sunday. I received a letter from home last week, they were all well. Evelina Bliss went up there yesterday to keep the school. She is Mrs. Bliss’ girl, you know we used to board with her. Charly is writing to her. Heerns is afraid he would be drafted so he enlisted and has gone in the Navy and Priscilla has gone to Danville to live. They drafted in Poland last week and the officers went after some man and he was in bed playing sick so the officers told him he must go and the man’s wife took a broad axe and went at the officer and the man jumped out of the window in his shirt tail and two caught him, but he slipped away from them leaving his shirt tail in their hands and the last seen of him he was crossing the line into Canada minus his shirt tail and they have put his wife in jail for she hurt the officer pretty bad. He belonged here, so you see we have a bit of fun now and then. Oh, by the way is there a small boy or any kind of boy in your Battery that goes by the name of Willie Benjamin. Be sure to let me know if there is and how he looks and if he is good style; how old he is and most everything you know about him for we are for having a bit of fun with him that is if he is not fun already.
Made Mom be sure and I will speak a sweet word for you to some of the pretty girls for there is any quantity of them here and not a fellow to lay their jaws to. Ann received a letter from John last night and he starts for home the fifth of this month, but he has got to help guard the prisoners from Winchester to Washington and he could not tell when he should be here, won’t we be glad to see him. I bet we will. How I do wish you and George was coming too, but we think you will for every thing looks favorable for a speedy ending to the war, then won’t we have gay times, it won’t be us if we don’t.
I shall be so glad to see you I shall want to stand everybody on their heads just to see if they will [?] a good [?] what do you think about it? Jim has moved into his new house and I expect he will father a large family by the time you get home. I have just been to dinner and I wish I could give you some. I think it would taste better to you than salt horse. Ann sits here writing to her beau in law. She has to be a real Patriotic Lincoln man what think you of that. She can’t write today so she says. I believe I have scribbled enough for this time so will close, write soon, for we shall be worrying about you now they have commenced fighting again.
Write soon to you loving sister,
Nellie
Scans of Letter
