April the 11 1862

Dear mother and Father I seat myself this morning to write you a few lines to let you know how I am. I am not well I have a bad cold and diarehea I am the most wore out you ever seen me I reckon but I hope these few lines may find you all well my father we have had a tremendous battle here not exactly here but out on the tennessee river the began Sunday morning about five o'clock I think and the fight continued all day til near dark and our 16 regiment camped in about three quarters of a mile from the river if the enemy had knew it they could have shelled us monday mornig we all got up very soon and formed in a line of battle and marched up the hill a piece and looked about four hundred yards from us and there the yankies was we commenced firing at them and they began to shell us we had then to retreat and in that retreat Emet Dier got shot and killed but we helped him along and he walked a hundred yards I reckon I had hold of him on one side and another of our boys on the other side he began to get weaker and weaker till at last he give down and the enemy was shelling us we had to leave him we lost three of our company Emit Dier, Henry soss Brooks from greensburg and George richardson wounded Henry Womack was slight wounded bertran Melvin was wounded in the arm bill adkins was shot through the leg and Poke Jones was shot through the thigh Poke is hurt very bad it is an awful thing to be in a battle sunday evening the 16 & 18 was ordered to charge a battery we did not any body there but just that battery and when we got close to them we found there about ten thousand of infantry there we fired one round one round and then retreated we lost a heap of men out of our regiment that time the fighting went on the most of the day. monday monday about twelve oclock I think it was we got into another hard fight here was a heap of men killed and wounded there. There was twenty some odd of the St. Helena rebels in it Frank was sick he was not in it but I was there and thank God I was spared one bullet passed through my britches leg but it did not hurt me you have heard of battles but if you could walk over a battle ground you would see a sight they sat that the yankies numbered one hundred and twenty five thousand troops we wiped them out of all their camps but them wright on the river they have the finest Camp you ever saw they had more stores of all kinds I do not know wat all the boys did get over coats boots shoes apples tobacco they got a little of most every thing. I got several things but fighting was not over and thought they was too heavy to toat and laid them down. I received your letter when I got back to Corrinth George hill carried it out there but he could not find our regiment I was very glad to hear from you all it is supposed that ausburn Jones is taken prisner and John watson tell Mr Jenkins I believe his some came of safe but the fourth regiment got cut up very bad Capt Taylor was killed he was not killed dead but will die it is supposed we had about seventten hundred killed and I reckon about three thousand wounded. Josep Chaney and Sam Williams told me to tell you all that they came out Saute Levy came out safe. There is a great many of our boys sick in camp I got frank to the hospital yesterday evening he was just laying here in the tent and it raining nearly every day and the hospital is a good warm house and thought it better for him he can get somethings that he can eat ther and he cant here. Paret Everett is very sick and I wanted him to go with frank but he did not want to go and the get but little comfort here in camp. I have been very unwell since we got back from the fight it rained on us two nights and coming back we had to wade over knee deep frank wants his paw to come after him quick. I must bring my letter to a close I have nothing mor at present but remain your son untill death

Abraham Nesom

Look out for yankie needles [Abraham had sent his sister some needles captured in the Yankee camp at Shiloh - mentioned in another letter]