The following letter was written by Noah Merriam (1840-1927) of Linn, Wisconsin who enlisted as a corporal on 15 August 1862 in Co. C, 22nd Wisconsin Infantry—sometimes called the “Abolition Regiment.” Noah was taken a prisoner with some 200 others of his regiment in action at Thompson’s Station, Tennessee, on 5 March 1863 by Bragg’s Cavalry forces under Van Dorn but was exchanged after spending less than a month at Libby Prison. He mustered out on 12 June 1865.

Noah was the son of Allen Merriam (1797-1879) and Permelia Hutchins (1800-1871) of Linn, Walworth county, Wisconsin.

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Camp Coburn [Kentucky]
November 28th 1862

Miss Mary,

I received your letter several days ago and have been very busy since and have not seen a favorable opportunity to answer before. Perhaps you would like to know what we have been doing.

Last Sabbath Stephen and Frank and myself were detailed to stand guard in a depot and we had a good time for we had a good place to sleep and a plenty of sugar & molasses & hard crackers to eat & a coal stove in the office to lie down by with blankets to lie on with our knapsacks to put our heads on. About noon Sunday, Stephen went back to camp (a distance of a mile) and got some beef and coffee and brought it back and went across the road to a slave’s house and got them to fry the beef and make us a cup of coffee and put some milk in it and we had a most luscious supper. And as we sat by the stove and ate our supper, it made us think of home firesides so much so that Stephen & Frank wrote letters home most all night while I lay and snoozed my regular four hours.

In the morning we bought a gallon of molasses and took it to the other boys in the mess. The other spare time aside from other duties we have been raising our tent with sods and building a stone fireplace which we have now fully accomplished and it makes it a little more like live as it is rather cool weather about these days.

Last Wednesday we had the extreme pleasure of eating a piece of wedding cake in remembrance of Skiler & Claire’s wedding but it would have given us more of we could have witnessed the said scene.

For our Thanksgiving we listened to a short address from our Chaplain and pork and beans, good health and prosperity to be thankful for. Now there are nine in the tent, two of which are playing checkers (C. Beaure & [A.] J. Howe), three writing (E[zra W.] Button, J[ames] Weter, and your honorable servant), four are sick (C. Densmore with a cold, T[heron] Aiken with the mumps, D[wight] Allen a cold, J[ames] Holcomb with a fever, taken sick last night) but none dangerous. T. Merriam is a looker on the cry of letters has now come and Frank goes out to get them from the mess. Dwight gets one, Button three, Aiken one, Frank one, Weter one, N[oah] none. W[illiam] Bright sits in front of me eating hard crackers and beef. Seems to be happy. Martin [F. Ross] has just got back from the town and has brought a gallon of molasses. That makes us look sweet, you know. I wish all those nice gals that we left behind us could step in and see us. We would enjoy good smack, I’ll bet (please excuse the liberty but this is the fact).

There is not much excitement in camp at present. Our Colonel wades rather deep sometimes but he always comes out on top free from injury. You wrote about rumors that reach you from camp but you must let them go in one ear and out the other. If they are not sanctioned by some of your correspondents. There are some four in the hospital. John Powell has the mumps, Frank Rockwell has just got back from the hospital. ¹ He has had a turn of typhoid fever and probably will get along now. There are two others that the fever pretty sick. There are two men from our company back at Lexington in the hospital. Cornew & Robbins, they are most well. The occupy some position in the hospital and they may stay there for the head physician wants them to stay but our captain (as usual) don’t want them to. It is decidedly in their favor for them to stay there for they can never stand it to stay with the regiment.

Tomorrow I shall have to go on guard. That is what I dread—to go out and stand guard two hours and then sleep 4 and then call us up when it is cold. That will make a man think of home. I shall try to get up in town and see the nice girls. The guards are stationed on the streets to guard against the soldiers committing depredations and to guard against spies, and when we are stationed in front of a house, there would be some nice young lady as a general thing would fetch us some nice victuals.

As my paper is too short, I will close with asking you to excuse bad spelling and writing. I should be glad to have you write often and I will answer as many as you can see fit to write. Martin wishes for me to say that he is well and hearty. Give my best respects to all inquirers and take a good share to yourself. No more at present. Friend, — Noah

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¹ See letter dated 8 December 1862 by Ezra Wilson Button to Harriett Emery on Spared & Shared 22, where Frank is visited by his father at Camp Coburn.