General Hospital
Leavenworth City, Dec. 24th, 1862
Dear Wife: Yours of the 17th inst. came to hand yesterday and you can easily imagine that it was joyfully received, when I inform you that it is the only line I have received from you since I was at Maysville, Ark. I there got two letters from you, both dated in September. I had no opportunity of writing much in Ark. but I wrote some half dozen letters while in the hospital at Fort Scott. I have never received the first line in answer to them and you do not say in your letter whether you received them or not. The first I wrote was dated the 9th or 10th of November. Since I came here I have been very sick again for four or five days but I have recovered again and can again walk out although I am so lame I do not think I could walk more than three or four miles a day. The cause of my lameness I have explained in my former letters. I am in hopes that I am slowly getting better of my lameness. The money I sent by express I suppose is lost for good. I had my wallet stolen while sick in Ark. together with $12, two receipts for money I sent by express and a note on two men for $8.00, so you see it is gone and I do not suppose I shall ever go back to Fort Scott to see about it, and if I did I do not think it would do me any good even if I had the receipts, as the express was not the United States express, but a thing got up to carry money from Fort Scott to Leavenworth where it was put into the American Express company hands. My money was stolen by a deserter. I had a pistol stolen by the same man. I will not have to pay for it. I had the bottom of my carpet sack ripped off and some things stolen from that. I think I have written all this to you before but can't remember. And now about my coming home. I do not have any idea that I shall come before spring, tho it would be the greatest of all earthly pleasures to do so and I am well satisfied it would be better for my health. I must give you the reasons why. In the first place if I get a discharge the law is such that a volunteer has to be in the service two years or to the end of the war to obtain his $100 bounty. Such is military law, and yet the government can discharge you if they choose in spite of you. In the second place, you can get a sick furlough for 60 days and if you are not able to do duty at the end of that time you can get an extension of the furlough, but the Government do not furnish you money to go home on furlough, and it will cost nearly $40 to go home to Wisconsin from here. You see my reasons I cannot afford to come back as I went. I want a little something when I get there to help ourselves with. I hope this will be a sufficient explanation.
Remember me to the children. Write on receipt of this.
God bless and protect you all.
Charles N. Mumford.