Kentucky, December 21, 1861

We are still at the same place close to the town Lebanon, how long we will be staying here is unknown. We are about forty or fifty miles from Somerset.

The papers say that six thousand Southern men came across the river last week. A great number of Northern troops are already over, we have been waiting for orders to go there, but none yet.

We are about eleven thousand men here. Each regiment have their own separate camping grounds. Our regiment had not drilled together before we came here.

The weather has been mild and comfortable, but yesterday it was very cold so we carried stones and built a fireplace in our tent. Today it is raining all day. We have now the soft Kentucky clay to walk on.

I received your letter of December 10th the 18th. We have a post office in our camp and daily mail. I am glad every time that I receive a letter.

Louis Swenson and Ole O. Hemsedal came back from the Louisville hospital and are now well. They say that there are four hundred patients in that hospital, and many died daily. There are many hospitals of the same kind in that town.

Fredrik Olson is now better and up part of the time. He is in Louisville.

One is dead in our company. His name is Jack Kammer. I am well as usual, Peter and Evend are well, also the others that you know.

There usually are not over forty men in our company able for duty, but I have not been on the sick list.

We are now only four in our tent, Andrew Anderson, Peder, Evend and myself that are together.

Cox has been sick here in town now for more than a week, but is now getting better.

The St. Peter paper says that P. Peterson is sick but that is a mistake.

If you have any wheat left to sell, hold it as long as you can. It is possible that the English men will come and fight against us, the wheat will sometime be worth money.

After our payment in January we chipped together, mostly a dollar each and bought a Sabel for Cox for thirty dollars, also one of Skaro for fifty dollars as a gift from company E.

There are very few soldiers that have a dollar left two weeks after pay day.