DIY History | Transcribe | Civil War Diaries and Letters | Marks Family letters, 1861-1865

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1863-12-11 Page 2

If you will look on your map I can tell you right where we are. We are just 74 miles from Memphis and 18 from Corinth on the Hatchie river the Tuscumbia river empties into the Hatchie two miles about this place we are in the bend of he Hatchie and six miles from the State line.  We are in one of the safest places on this road the Rebel cannot attact us only on one side and we have a fort large enough to hold all the boys here beside that we have breast works and a place for a masqued Battery all ready to putting the guns in.  They canot get to us on two sides for the river which they cannot cross without a bridge it is small but deep and swift.  All the ways they can come is from the South and they would have to cross an open field from a half to three quarters of a mile wide and while they was doing that the masqued battery and the Battery in the fort would be playing on them all the time while the Infantry would be held in check until closer and besides that the fort is surrounded with a circle of small trees that have been cut down and the limbs cut off about half way up to the body of the tree and placed very close together with the top of the tree out so animal can get through and a man will find it very difficult; this is to prevent a charge on the fort no body of men can get over those trees without being cut to pieces and they cant pull the trees away very easy they are staked down.  We have nothing to fear here unless ten times our (illegible) attacts us and then reinforcements are handy.  This state is far better than any part of Mississippi that I have seen it is not so (braken?) and the soil is some different they have had better crop here than in Mis it looks some like a man could make a living here.  The citizens here are of a different disposition than in Mis are sullen and look sneaking but those here clever sociable and looks like they had some respect for the old flag and I believe the most of them have so far as I have seen around here

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If you will look on your map I can tell you right where we are. We are just 74 miles from Memphis and 18 from Corinth on the Hatchie river the Tuscumbia river empties into the Hatchie two miles about this place we are in the bend of he Hatchie and six miles from the State line. We are in one of the safest places on this road the Rebel cannot attact us only on one side and we have a fort large enough to hold all the boys here beside that we have breast works and a place for a masqued Battery all ready to putting the guns in. They canot get to us on two sides for the river which they cannot cross without a bridge it is small but deep and swift. All the ways they can come is from the South and they would have to cross an open field from a half to three quarters of a mile wide and while they was doing that the masqued battery and the Battery in the fort would be playing on them all the time while the Infantry would be held in check until closer and besides that the fort is surrounded with a circle of small trees that have been cut down and the limbs cut off about half way up to the body of the tree and placed very close together with the top of the tree out so animal can get through and a man will find it very difficult; this is to prevent a charge on the fort no body of men can get over those trees without being cut to pieces and they cant pull the trees away very easy they are staked down. We have nothing to fear here unless ten times our (illegible) attacts us and then reinforcements are handy. This state is far better than any part of Mississippi that I have seen it is not so (braken?) and the soil is some different they have had better crop here than in Mis it looks some like a man could make a living here. The citizens here are of a different disposition than in Mis are sullen and look sneaking but those here clever sociable and looks like they had some respect for the old flag and I believe the most of them have so far as I have seen around here