Transcribed and submitted by
Teri Button
Great Great Granddaughter of Charles Hennrich
Jackson, Tenn.
February 23, 1863
Dear Parents:
Your letter of the 13th I received the 21st of February and see you are all well, as I, thank God, also am.
I went back to the regiment again the 13th of February. I was under the care of a German doctor who has me pretty well cured.
To date, we have lain at our old place about a mile north of the town. We have a pretty good life. We have our tents well arranged. Our company has made a fireplace for each tent and it is now fairly warm in the tents.
We have enough to eat. We get plenty of rice, beans, coffee, sugar, and meat. We have crackers again now. Otherwise we had received flour. Then we took the flour to town and traded it for bread.
We now belong to General Donnen's brigade and to General Sullivan's division, the whole of which is under Major-General Hurlbut in the 16th Army Corps.
Last Sunday, the 22nd, was the birthday of old General Washington. Our brigade had to go to the drill grounds where a parade was held and 34 cannons fired.
We do not know if we are going to leave soon or not but judging by the arrangements that we have made here in camp we will remain here for some time yet.
Our company is now in pretty good health and is now the largest company in the regiment. In the other companies there are quite a few sick, but that is probably because our company is practically all German and stand more.
The rebels have so far left us alone. The last that we heard of them Van Doren was supposed to have crossed the Tennessee River with his army. Where he intends to go we do not know. If he wants to come to Jackson we will give him a warm reception for we can hold out against an enemy force of twice our number since we are so well fortified. They will not run over us the way they ran over the 101st Illinois regiment for we have pretty strong pickets out. We have to do guard duty every other day now.
I was sorry to hear that Phillip Dock had been wounded. When I saw him in Cairo and in Memphis he was so well and happy. According to your letter he had his ear shot away. We had seen before, in the paper, that he had been wounded, but how he was wounded we did not know.
Last week a Negro regiment passed through here on the railroad going to Memphis to be shipped from there to Vicksburg. Several of them already had guns. Jeff Davis has made a speech wherein he said that he wants to catch every Negro who fights against his own government with a gun in his hand. They know too that if they are caught that they will make an example of them. Therefore they fight to the last and do not let themselves be captured very easily.
I must close now and send greetings to all of you. Greet all of my friends and acquaintances.
Your loving son,
Charles Hennrich
Answer soon.
NOTES: Phillip Dock died of the wounds mentioned.