Thanks to Charlie Kennedy, a great great granddaughter of Lemuel Morse, we have these excerpts from two letters Lemuel wrote to his sister.

“Nashville Oct 15th, 1863

Sister Maria, ……The weather has been cold for more than a month. I sleep under more clothes than I did at any time last winter, and it is cold then. Talk of the ‘Sunny South’ -- the further we get South the colder it is. We have had a storm for several days and now it is raining hard. The men are putting up stoves in their tents. There are 9 tents in the Company, and nearly every one have a stove which they stole, we have none in our tent yet, but must get one soon. Cap. will give some of the boys a pass to go out some night and we will have a stove in the morning. We are still at Nashville, but they say that we have marching orders for the front, but what ‘they say’ is not always true. I don’t care how soon we go, I want to get away from here. Part of our Reg. went last week to Franklin, and part to Columbia, but came back again in a few days; at Franklin is where the boys hooked the stoves. There are about 30,000 troops between here and Chattanooga, all from the Eastern Army, several Regiments of Mass troops, also from Maine and other N.E. states. Soldiers are constantly passing through here going to Old Rose [General Rosecrans]. I think there must be another great battle soon between Bragg and Rosecrans; but I was only going to write a few words…

I want to go home for about 20 days but there is no use talking; I can’t do it. Lt. McKnight has been home on furlough , we expect him back tomorrow, but he is a married man; they can go home if they will swear that their family is sick. Well, I must close, you must write when you can, direct to this place, Is Daniel Walker and the rest of the boys at home? I study tactics all the time I can, am now on the ‘Evolution of a Brigade’ here is Cap. calling for the orderly -- something is up, and I must close. L. Morse, Lt. Co G 129th Ill”

“Chattanooga, Aug 5th, 1864 Dear sister,

……..I have been at the Officer’s Hospital on Lookout Mountain for a week. Did not go on account of sickness, but I was about played out, feel better now and am going back to the Company. There are a good many stout healthy officers in the hospital, but I had rather be with the Company and share the dangers and privations with them. I have told the boys that when I got so that I could not do duty, and not likely to, I should resign, unless I was wounded, in that case I would stay until my time was out.

I suppose you have seen an account of the late battles around Atlanta. I was in the fight on the 20th. Except the charge we made at Reseca, this was the hardest fight we have been in, but at Reseca only our Corps was engaged while here the whole of our corps, and part of the 4th and 14th were engaged. I have not time nor space to give you a description of the fight, but it came nearest to what my idea used to be of a battle I ever saw. Out of 39 men our company lost 14. I have heard since I came away that another of our men has been badly wounded -- Levi Dell, my old neighbor of Odell; he was the first man I ever spoke to about enlisting. We agreed to go to the war together. He is the last of the Odell boys now left in the company.”