Old Old friend

If this should catch you, it will surprise you worse than any letter you ever received in your life. Where did I see you last? In Aug 1864, where in Hopkins County Ky. What was I doing? You was running like the D_____L was after you, what was after me? Worse than the D____L the yankees, what was I doing I was carrying Strap Denton’s old Shot Gun, and it wouldn’t shoot.

Where did I get it? You jumped down off your horse right in the middle of the road, on Monday evening at Charleston, and picked it up where Andy Beal threw it. When the Yankees began firing on us and we whirled to run and old Nimrod Chamberlains mule fell with him and Geo Robinson and John Dixon (our Advanced Guard) run right over Chamberlain and his mule, but you got Straps gun. Well, what did I do with it? You carried on till the Yankees got after us on Wednesday morn and you just shoved it off breech foremost against the fence, but it didn’t break, but you and your little old rusty looking horse got busy, your horse ran against the fence, knocked down about 4 panels and you rolled over in the cornfield and while I have been searching for you more or less ever since, I have never met you since that morning. What did I do? The little tender-footed filly that broke loose and followed us out of Charleston, and I took my saddle off the young mule, that I had rode from home, and that threw me, and got away from me at the Charleston Battle, and I captured Chamberlains. But when we the 10 of us got together down there on the Branch, after the Battle, Chamberlain come and demanded his mule, I took my saddle off my mule, which was about all in, and put it on this filly, and you took the saddle that was on the filly, and I had torn Chamberlain’s old saddle, from underneath his mules belly and just let it fall, when I captured the mule, now Chamberlain no saddle.

Now back to Battle No. 2 where I saw you last, my little tenderfoot stumbled and fell altogether about 50 feet, Mr. Yanks got me and the filly, Jon Dixon’s horse stumbled fell with him a little ahead of me, but his horse jumped up with a big saddle under his belly and skimmed out, and the Yanks never caught him, and he went clear back home in Henderson County, but they got Dixon. Hence they got me and my filly, Dixon and your horse, but you and Dixon’s horse got away. That’s been 49 yrs ago in next mo, but those things are much more fresher in my mind than things that occurred one year ago.

I came to Fort Worth in May 1873, 40 years ago, lived there about 6 mo. and went back to Ky in Oct 1873, not a foot of rail road closer than Dallas, Tex. then. I met Dr. T. M. Ewing" who was living there at that time, but I don’t think I learned from him where any of you boys were, very likely didn’t ask him at all, but I have been traveling now for 17 years past, have been in Texas more or less nearly every year, I found Ben Quinn in Ark some years ago, and he told me the last he ever knew of or had heard, that you was between Ft. Worth and Dallas. Ever since I got that much start, when anywhere in that section I would inquire after you and in Feb. at Arlington happened to inquire in the presence of one J. A. Moore who had lived and known you at Decatur, but thought you had moved to Okla. but that he could learn by writing to Decatur where your P. O. was at and write me but I heard no more from him. Wrote him later to Arlington but no ans. I was at Arlington a short time ago and learned Moore had gone back to Decatur, and I wrote him there, got an answer this morning, he thinks Maysville was your post office and possibly is yet, but he is having some one to write to some other party who could give your address to him and he would give it to me and he also gave me the post office address of your son-in-law Crowell Texas who I will write to if I can’t learn otherwise. I’m going to find you if possible, and if you get this please answer promptly, Thee.

My second wife has been dead, and I’ve been traveling ever since her death 14 yrs last April. I was traveling three years before her death but since her death I’ve never been at what I could call home except at the Hotel or boarding house. My children are all grown or dead and I’m just kindly living out an unexpired term, living the past over again, hunting up old friends and Ccc I have always been a great letter writer and have kept up with all the men I ever knew pretty nearly, when they would leave our part of the state, have had an excellent memory for remembering their names and post offices and would write them and kept up a correspondence, if they answered my letters and it got to be a kind of fad with me, since I’ve been traveling to hunt them.

I have a history of the Partisan Rangers its called written by "Adam Johnson" and I was reading in it yesterday right on and on up to Sunday morning. The morning we all left Petersbug in the evening under Captain Garr, but Johnson’s eyes were shot out at Grubbs Cross Roads in Caldwell County on that Sun. morning but Garr nor none of the company knew anything of it till Monday morning. We stayed at George Parkers Sun. night. Clayte McCarty hitched his gray pony in the fence corner rolled right over in the corn field and we never saw McCarty afterwards but you confiscated the gray pony and that furnished Lum Wise a horse instead of having to ride behind in the service as he had done from Petersburg to Parkers Sunday evening. That’s no history but are facts as we knew them to occur. We were there wasn’t we? Now you can see something about my memory even though you had forgotten those occurrences in 49 years, this will dig them up again, doesn’t it. You will see my many errors in writing leaving out letters and whole words, jamming words together and c all of which make allowances for, please.

I was in Lindsay, Chickasha and I think Maysville 2 or 3 years ago but I didn’t know you lived near Maysville. There was just 21 of us when we went into action at Charleston and just reaching Stubans Lick, Chamberlin kept growling so about being a little sore from having rode a mule bare back 150 miles and Capt. told him to dismount and Chamberlin joined the Infantry right there hence they were only 9, when the Yanks got after us there as follows; Capt. Garr, Dick Lambert, George Robinson, John Dixon, Lon Edwards, Bill McElroy, Thee Davidson, Cap Spencer and I. I was 69 in April past and you are not far off either way, I think.

I am still a traveling man and if I ever get you located properly and continue to travel I am liable to hunt you up some time, then we could talk some. I could tell you a great deal about all the people that you once knew and haven’t heard of for years.

If this finds you be sure to answer.

Your old old friend, that you knew as Cap Spencer

S. W. Spencer
4704 Sycamore St.
Dallas, Texas