Dear Father I rec yours of the 15th last night and was some what supprise to hear that you had a letter here in this place It is some ons fault that took the mail there they forgot to put on it soldiers letter I am going to the office in person this afternoon and I will see to it I am confined in Jail No 4 not for disobedience but as a guard over prisoners Sesessh and union some are political some are deserters and some are regular buternuts there is 40 or 50 in all it is not very hard although I am on duty every day 6 hours out of 24 I like it better than in camp for I am in the dry all of the time and sleep in a house there is several of our boys in with me none that you know but H Wilcox [i.e., Pvt. Horace G. Wilcox, Co. H, 100th Ohio Infantry]

I wrote a letter to you last week after I got yours and put in 2 whole sheets to give you something of a view of our tramp and how we managed the thing I do not get your letter untill thursday so you see that i can not answer them and have them get back saturday I wish you could write oftener but I suppose I shall have to be patient According to the papers we are going to have some thing to do in Ky some fighting well I suppose I shall have to run my chance with the rest of them if there is an engagement it is their only hope to get into this state or their gone up but it does not seem to me as though they were coming in they will find that we are here first and that they have got western troops instead of eastern there is Mich Ill and Ohio troops here and they will never

get through this town without a fight and that a bloody one I understand that there is 50000 comeing in from Western Virginia that is federals and if they are you can see a little what they have got to doo it will not be boys play Well a little about our own affairs our Col has been under arrest ever since we came here because when we were on the march from Georgetown he pressed a large team of mules and never turned them over to the quartermaster and that is the cause of his arrest and there is not many that cares for he is a cross petulant drunken swearing man and the charges against our is 3 one is shooting at that man another is willful disobedience and last of all is one night after we got here to go and guard a train to Mount Sterling and it was snowing and raining

a very rough night and did not go and he has been under arrest ever since and he sent in his resignation and it was accepted bully for that although he always treated me well and I never asked for a pass but what I got it Harvy and I played off that night and we got clear of going they was some 4 days tramping through the mud now if any one gets to talking about Palmer you can tell them how it is I suppose Losure will be our Capt he is recomended as such whether John Hine [i.e., 2nd Lt. John J. Hine, Co. H, 100th Ohio Infantry] or H. J. Bates is second Lieut I do not know if Hine is Lieut Bates will be Orderly Hine is a good fellow I think well I must close for I have got to go on guard I got that letter and picture of Henrys [i.e., Henry Randall (b. 1857/8), the author's half-brother] tell him that I could read part of it and I have both layed up give my love to all of the friends and tell C J Ford that he owes me a letter and I would like to have him pay it up I had a letter from Cyrus and one from Cousin James I have a good many to write to now days good by write soon

H E Randall