Decatur, Ala March 22nd 1862 My dear dear Lizzie On our arrival at this place last night I had the pleasure to get your dear letter of the 15th of last month. It was over a month old but your hand had traced it and your thoughts were on it so I kissed it and read it over and over. I can but give expression to my gratitude to God for his goodness to me in keeping you darling Lizzie and our little ones from all harm. Every night I pray to him to watch over you and give Him thanks for His past mercies. I never blaspheme his name nor speak it but in prayer and with reverence. Our army is now in the South side of the Tennessee River and we are in daily expectation of a great battle. It is reported and is reliable I presume that the enemy are advancing from Nashville by way of Columbia upon this section of Country. I feel confident that we shall be able to whip them whenever [2] the fight occurs. I believe that God will sustain our good cause and in Him I place all our trust and confidence. We have a noble army and I think our Generals are fully up to the occasion and will regain all our lost laurels and ground. The army is much better armed and equipped now than when we were in Kentucky. We have the advantage of being able to reinforce as rapidly as our enemy possibly can and that is a matter in which we have heretofore been deficient. I found Ned McDaniel here last night and I was delighted to meet him I assure you. He is looking very well and behaves himself admirably. He did himself great credit at the battle of Fishing Creek. We will be near together for some time. He sends you heartsfull of love and it is earnest with him for he truly loves you and the little ones. Cousin Phil has seen you ere this I suppose and told you all the news as to what he saw and heard- All are well with us, Jesse, Sam, Tom, and all friends. I had a letter from Fayette last night; he is well and will soon be with the Regt. Uncle [3] Ned also wrote me a long letter. Sarah and Harriet both owe me letters and I am astonished at not hearing from them. They were all well at last accounts. I received a letter from pa also dated more than a month since. All well I am looking for letters of later date soon. I got a letter from Aunt Bettie Sadler several days (3 weeks) ago. I believe I wrote you of this though. I have entirely recovered my health though I am extremely thin and weak yet but am regaining strength rapidly. I believe I shall never regain any flesh and I care very little about it. We are now without tents and living on parched corn until our wagons come up, which will probably be Tonight. We have been two days without rations. From here I think we will probably go to Corinth Mississippi where you may direct your letters. Tell all who write to me of it as I think it is or will be our nearest post office. As I write to you every four or five days I can not possibly have much to write and you must therefore excuse [4] the want of interest in them but I know you love my letters any way so I will not tell you that I expect you tire of reading them as you do me. Dont do it any more darling. Tell Miss Lizzie that she must pardon me for not sending her messages of kind words for I had the right to expect one from her first and feel a delicacy in opening it. I love her for her kindness to you and shall never forget it. Kiss her for me and tell her I love her a heap and expect her to regard me as one of her best friends. Mrs Lamar has been delaying her reply to my letter quite as long as etiquette requires and I am forced to the conclusion that my letter was by her regarded as mal-apropos and out of taste. Dont tell her so but say to her that if my writing was not proper she will pardon my ignorance. I know, I meant no harm. Tell her not to be mad. Dr Feris has not treated me as I think he ought and you can say so to him. In this, his answers to my letters bear the marks of haste and a kind of heaviness of indisposition seems to weight them down. He writes on half sheets of account paper with tattered edges. Tell my friend Dr I observe these little matters and that were it not for his joyous and felicitous matter I should regard this manner as indicative of a desire to close the correspondence. I do not think he does [5] though or he would not express any gratification at receiving mine. You may let him see what I have written as friendship is firmly established only when candor is one of its cornerstones. Tell Mrs Feris, God bless her, and that although I may not have expressed it so distinctly and unequivocally as I have with the Dr yet she shares with him equally my highest regards. That I have even felt the trust and purest friendship for her knowing her to be one of the best friends of your family and having every reason to believe her a friend of mine. That though I have not been so demonstrative toward her my feelings have ever been of the kindest character. And dear Susie has written me a most affectionate "letter of explanation" as she calls it. Tell her that I know her good kind heart had no idea of offense and that I must beg her not to think so. Tell her I love her as my sister who has my good at heart and feel no inkling of anger for words which were I know unguarded. [6] Susie is a dear good sister and must not think one capable of being angry with her. I shall write her the very first paper I get. Kits kind letter was also recd last night and assure her that I appreciate it. Kit is only at fault in one thing and that is "she did not think I wished to hear from her." Tell her that is childs talk and to write to one with the certainty of my being delighted to hear from her and that as often as it is possible I will try and interest her with letters from my poor pen. I must close this for I have only one sheet more of paper to write upon and that must be devoted to Uncle Ned and then I must hunt up another for any good friend Geo Davis. I have just received orders to march in the morning to Corinth and be there (80 miles) in four days- Kiss our babies Ida Polly Nettie and Peggy- A thousand for you darling- Love to Kim and regards to friends- (I got your father's letter last night). Goodbye, darling, kiss me (here X) I have a long letter to write you about a certain matter soon. It is a wrong I have done and you must know it. You were the person wronged. But it is all over and right now- Now I can before God sign myself your own. Gustave [inserted on margin of page 1: Emmett Jones Gus Jones and Alonzo Autrey are here. I have not seen the Misses Jones Just kiss X me here You will be perfectly astonished at what I am going to write you in a letter of leisure soon. Don't be mad but wait til you read it all. Your Gustave Love to Aunt Sarah]