MACK TO NAN

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will finis[h] this tomorrow. --Ohow I wish we was together to spend New year.__. Good Night Dear Nan. Mc Nan Ewing. Far
MACK TO NAN Saturday Dec 30th 1864 Jarvis Hospital Baltimore, Md. My Dear Nan again through the kind providence of God I am permited to enjoy a season of pleasure in writing to you. I am still getting along very well with my wound. it is doing well. I[t] does not pain me any now. it is running nicely. I think I will be well by the first of march, if it still does well. I sleep very well of night and am comefortable in day time. I wood like to be with you through my affliction but I know it is imposiable to be with you now. therefore I try to keep up all the courage and sperit I can, hoping and trusting in God that we will se each other before very long. I have never felt like grumbling or murmuring on account of my misfortune, but I do feel very thankful to my Great Preserver that He has preserved my life through all the dangers that I have passed through. --Well Nan this is the last day of 64. tomorrow is the first day of 1865. well do I remember the comefort and peace we enjoyed together one year ago this day and tomorrow. you well remember it dont you. O how I wood love to be with you this New-year. I know it would be a day of satisfaction to us, but I still hope for better days than those that pass while we are so far seperated. --We anticipate a grand diner here tomorrow for the sick and wounded soldiers they had a big diner here on the thanksgiving day. And another on last Christmas day. And it is said that they are going to have a New-year diner that will excel either of the past. I dont know what it will consist of yet. I will not finish this till after diner tomorrow. then I will tell you what good things we had. --We have plenty to eat here, and I never had a better appetite in my life than I have at present. --it snowed a bout two inches last nite and is still snowing all day today. but it melts about as fast as it falls. I think it ant more than two inches deep now and it is after 3 P.M. --I was mustered for pay again today. I dont know wether I will get pay here or not. Pay day wont come till the 15 of Jan, and I may be transferred from here to some other hospital before that. --I am going to try to get transferred to Detroit Mich. if I can, but I shant till I know wether I will get any pay here nor not. --now I am at the Chappel writing. it is about 25 rods to my ward from here. I must go to my ward now for it is time that my wound is dressed. I will finis[h] this tomorrow. --Ohow I wish we was together to spend New year.__ Good Night Dear Nan. Mc Nan Ewing Far away but loved. Sunday January 1st 1865 New-year I hope this is a pleasant New-year to you. I am comefortable but lonesome to-day. I promised to tell you to-day what our New-year diner was. well the great festival diner was postponed till tomorrow on account of this being Sunday. So I will not finish this letter till after diner tomorrow. --this is a pretty cold day it seams almost as cold as last New-year. now I will stop for today and write a letter to Pap and Mother. O how I wish I knew how you and the baby is today. Good night again Dear Nan for today Mc 5 Oclock Monday P.M. Jan 2ond Well Nan as I have just returned to my ward from the Jolly festival New-year dinner I will try to tell you some of the good things that we was bountifully invited to partake of. in the first place we had every thing that a hungry soldier or even one that was not hungry could think of to wish for. --We had bushels of nicely cooked Oysteras Mince pies plumb pies lemmon pies by the cord. (almost.) --Sweet Cakes of every discription frosted and not frosted. Stuffed turkes and geese and chickens and ducks. --smashed potatoes, roasted hams, cabage, (what we call cold

slaw.) and preserves and sauce of all most every kind you can think of.--but I cant discribe it as nice as it was. it was as nice and neat a dinner as I ever saw, and there was about two thousand soldiers in the Hospital that had all they could eat, and there was more left on the table than was eat. the proceedings was carried on in good civil order a band of music played as we marched in to the dining room, which is prepared perposely for a Hospital dining room. fifteen hundred can be accommodated at the table at once. it was a joyful diner and time for those that felt joyful. as for me I enjoyed it very well, but if I had been with you then I wood have enjoyed my self so well I cood not tell it. I wish you cood have been here with me today, but I hope you enjoyed a good diner and comefort at home. I wood have felt lots better if I had been with you at home, if I had nothing but a peace of bred and butter for dinner. --now it is so dark I cant se the line to write, so I will soon stop for tonight and finish in the morning. --Nan there is going to be a concert at the dining room tonight a perpose for the soldiers of this Hospital it is free for soldiers but Citizens has to pay 25 cts. I think I will go to it just for to se how it is carried on as I was never at such a thing. now it is so dark I cant hardly se the letters I make so I will stop for tonight and tell the rest ;in the morning. good night from your old man Mc to Nan Ewing Tuesday morning. --I am feeling firstrate this morning so far as my wound is concerned. It is still doing firstrate. I think it is going to get well with[out] any very serioius trouble. I was at the concert last nite . I stayed till it was about half over and then came to my House and went to bed. all that was done they played the band and sang some nice union songs. it was no particular ammusement for me. --Well I got a letter yesterday from Mr Abbott and Lydia, dated Dec 29th I wrote to them the same day I wrote to you, the 27th of Dec. they got the letter in due time. I shall look for a letter from you now every day till I get one. I want to hear from you and the baby the worst kind, but I will wait patiently as posiable till I get one. I hant had any letter from home yet. I look for one from home two. This is a very pleasant morning but is tolerable cool but clear. now I think you will be glad when you get the long letter red, for it is not very important news, but it is the best I can do this time. so I will bring it to a close. I must write home to day and to Mr Abbott. I hope I will get a letter from you today. I am trying to live right and obey the comands of God. I still want your prayers to support me and help me to live faithful. what a comefort it will be if we are ever permited again to serve God together, wont it Nan now I will close hoping this will find you well and the baby fat and harty. write as soon as you get this. write all the good by for today. Mc--Nan Ewing I always think of Thee I know you always think of me. Mc Nan ______________________________________________________________________________ Note: As AEE points out in a special note Mack must have meant Saturday, December 31 when he started writing this letter, since the next day was January 1. WKE 062200