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Martin Drake to Theodore Drake
Oak Grove, Dodge Co. Wis.
July 4, 1865
Dear Son Theodore,
Your letter of June the 28th has just been -- we got it last evening. I am glad to find
your health is improving to some extent. you will have to take particular care of yourself
for fear you may get a relapse. your complaint is a bad one and without special care it
may run you entirely down. We have sent you two letters since Martha wrote you. They
were directed to Louisville K.Y. no doubt you have rec. them since you wrote last. I put
a couple of dollars and some stamps in one of them. Also a receipt from Dr. Johnston for
your complaint. Dr. Spaulding gave prescriptions how you should treat with yourself all
of which I suppose you have recd. If you want more money write and I will send you
more. I think it best to send but a little at a time as it is sometimes mis arrived. Twice I
sent you some and in both instances ret. ones from the ded letter office. and once from
Chal. McQuivey I sent some to Charley for you and before he recd. it you had left. he
sent it back. You talk of sending your money home when you are paid. If you get your
pay I think probably it would be safest to express it to Watertown. If you do so let me
know and I will pay attention to getting it. You spoke about taking your U.S. pay to buy
you a good mare, which I do not object to but can you buy a horse down where you are
and make it pay better than buy one after you get home. you would have to pay your own
expenses in that case. while on the other hand your expenses home I presume will be paid
by the government. considering the difference both ways I should judge you could do as
well to buy at home and have a much easier journey home in the cars. I am mearly
supposing the cars as I don’t know horses can be bought down where you are so you must
do as you think best but it will be a long journey for you home on horseback I think. Does
the drafted men get a bounty. I am not aware how that is. I think they should have one as
well as the volunteers. If government would only think so. I am willing for you to make
use of your money to the best advantage for yourself. you can have a horse if you like.
Wether I sell old Ball or not. I have used Ball myself since you have been away and have
done as much with him and a pony as the other teams has done with charley to drive
them. There is no sale as yet for tobacco. W. Clark says there is not a man in the state
that is buying tobacco at the present time. Tobacconists say the duty on it is so high they
can not afford to buy it and manufacture it and get their money back owing to the inferior
quality this state produces compared with other sections. the eastern states is said to
produce a superior quality to what we can here. Consequently they buy where they can
get the best, but time will make the changes in that as well as in other things no doubt.
We have the same ground planted with corn this year that we had last. It looks rather
poor some of it at least and some looks pretty good. we have a hard drout here this
season again. no rain in some 5 or 6 weeks in consequence of which crops will be rather
light I think. However for the last week or two we have had plenty of rain and it may be
that crops generally will no better than was anticipated. things are growing nicely now at
all events and may recover to some extent at least but not so as to give a full yield I think.
You ask to know about home affairs, well I have given you the crop prospects and will try
to give you all about fruit, prices of grain & answer as I can. cherries, currents
gooseberries & all are in abundance this year. never more plenty here. the prospect for
apples is pretty good also until plumbs and wild cherry tree are leaved down with their
fruit the choak cherries hang very full but the fewer the better with that piece of trash.
plenty of milk weeds this season. the drouth did not impair their grip. The prices for grain
are very low. Compared with all the things the farmer produces. Yesterday wheat in
Watertown was only worth 88 cents per bu, oats about 40 cents, corn 30 cents. Flour per
-- about $5. to 5.50. Freights on wheat to Buffalo are quoted at 6.50 cents. Rye in
Milwaukee is quoted at 60 cents. Butter and eggs are at low prices, butter about 17 cents
and eggs about 12 cents, ------------sugar and molasses lower than they have been but
nothing we have to buy with in the least degree compared with what we have to sell. I see
you talk of sending some of your clothing home. well save all you can and send it home it
will -- come in to play as clothing is verry high here. There is an express office at Clyman
Station. And when you get all together you can spare send it to Clyman. give me notice
and I will keep a lookout for it and bring it home. Thomas Sp[rathers] is home on a
furlough from Louisville K.Y. I have not seen him yet but will go to see him in a day or
two. Your mother says she will send you a few things with Tho. S. if he will take them to
you. I can’t say what she will send. She spoke of sending some butter and dried fruit if
Tom could take them. Wm Christies Daughter is teaching our school this summer.
Tammy says she has a brother at Louisville but cannot tell his given name and does not
know what regt. he belongs to. perhaps you may run across him and form his
acquaintance and be company to each other. Jack Robinson is also there. He sent fifty
dollars home to his wife by Thomas ------. They have a great time in our State celebrating
the anniversary of our national Independence to day. Martha has gone to Milwaukee to
see them celebrate there and Charley has gone to Lowell to a Picnic I think. The rest are
all at home and well as usual. You speak of one man getting his pay in gold 13 dollars per
-- you say he has taken. I would not advise you to take gold for your pay because if you
want to buy anything you could not get a deduction made on goods to corre------.
greenbacks will be just as good after a while and about ---- there. I see by papers a
number of regiments of the army of the Potomac are ordered to be mustered out of the
service immediately besides those already mustered out. McQuivey says he seen an order
in the daily paper issued by the war department that all those whose time expired before or
by the first of January next was to be mustered out of the service immediately. I have not
seen anything to that effect yet but hope it may be the case. We have a general time of
health in this section as far as I know. no prevailing disease. I think that nothing more at
present that will interest you and will close hoping to hear from you soon the gratifying
intelligence of your speedy return to good health. Also a speedy return to the bosom of
your family and friends. We feel anxious for your welfare and ever shall. I believe I have
answered all your requests and bid you farewell for the present.
Most affectionately yours &c
Martin Drake
Theodore Drake to Martha Drake (sister)
Louiseville, KY to Oak Grove Wis.
July 5, 1865
Dear sister,
It is with much pleasure that I now undertake to answer your kind letter of June 13th
recd. on the 26th of the same month. I was very glad to hear from you for I had not heard
from you in a long time. my health is some better than it was & improving. I have but
little strength though. my body legs & arms are very poor but my face does not show it
near as much. I suppose it is bloat as much as anything that causes it. you ask me about
my discharge well our Regt. has orders to be mustered out immediately. we expect to
start for Wis. inside of 10 days. we will be mustered out here & sent either to Mad. or
Milwaukee to be discharged and paid off. perhaps you have seen the order for mustering
out such & such Regts. in the 14th Corps in which ours is included. you say strawberries
were just ripe when you wrote. if there is any left just bottle some and seal them for me.
or cherries raspberries blackberries for I have had none this year. the D. says ripe fruit will
not hurt me. I will know what to eat & not to eat when I come home. we had a splendid
dinner here yesterday. got up especially for the sick in hospital & attendants connected
with it. we had some blackberry pie. the best I ever eat I think. Oh most everything the
Dr. allowed us to eat was on the table. pine apple sardines cake well the articles are to
numerous to mention so I will postpone that. after we were through eating the chief
surgeon delivered a short address suitable to the occasion closing with a prayer & we all
went to our bed in the (hod?). all of the sick speak highly of the Surg. in charge here. all
medecine I take now is a table spoon ful of quinine & whiskey 3 times a day & a glass of
ale. you ask me what I am going to do when I come home. I don’t think I will be able to
do much for a while. help Father I suppose. I would like very much to try to make
something for myself but he is getting too old to work. if he would sell or rent the lower
80 it would be better for us all. you & me can support purselves now provided we should
try. I recd. $2 that father sent me in Lina’s letter while I was yet at Wash. but he says that
he has sent me 2 more that I wrote for shortly after I came here. I have not recd. that yet
but I think it is over at Div. Hd. qrts. I can’t tell for sure. I will send the P.-. a note& see
if it is there or any other mail for me. you need not mind about trying to persuade me
about buying a blue coat for I know my own business. blue has played out with me.
especialy when I am a citizen. that is for nice clothes. for everyday ware they will do first
rate. don’t send anything valuable in any of your letters until I know when we start for
home. I hear we start next monday. how true it is I can’t say. I shall have to close this
letter hoping to hear from you as soon as you rec. this. direct to Company B 3. Wis 2
Brig. Temp. Div 14 (A.C.?) Louisville Ky.
From your brother,
Theodore Drake