Dear Father and Mother

I thought I would write you a fiew lines to let you know that I am well and I hope this will find you all the same. We have bin having a hard time for some time back we had quite a fight the 30.. at Franklin their was part of our corps and part of the 23.. . We had to fall back but I consider the rebs got whiped. We got a bout 1500.. prisoners. they charged

our lines 6 or 7 times they broke the line once whare the conscripts was but the old soldiers took them back. We only lost a bout 700 men killed and wounded. the 84 didnot git to shoot any only some of us that was on picket. we marched 3.. nights had running we got so sleappy that the boys went to sleepe walking a long. Col. L. H. Waters [i.e., Col. Lewis H. Waters, 84th Illinois Infantry] was wounded and caswell [i.e., Lt. Russell W. Caswell, 84th Illinois Infantry] to caswell was shot in the neck and LH was shot in the arm a bout the sholdier they was all that was wounded in the regiment

     We are back at Nashville again and the rebs in our front and trying to cross the river I guess they inted to make us leave Nashville if they can. their is skirmishing all the time and the artillery is fireing most all the time. if any one would have told me we would be back here this soon I would have thought him a fool. it does not look hardly right to see us back here but we couldnot help it. we are living high now we can git any thing we want here. they have bin makeing the sharks that come a round looking

at things work on the works. I think it is a good thing they might stay in town. I got a letter from you dated the 20 of last month. I dont think I got all of your letters for some time back. I suppose you have got that money I sent you by orderly Mitchel before this. Well I have wrote more than will interest you so I will quit write often to your hopeful

H H Maley

To Wm M and
E A Maley