George informs his sister that he is now married and his wife is living with him in Glencor. He states that he joined the army because he felt it his patriotic duty to preserve the Union and save it from the rebels. He also gives a description of his meals and dietary habits.

Four miles outside the city of Nashville, which is now in the hands of Union troops, George complains that rebels have destroyed bridges on the Cumberland as well as steamboats, solely to keep them out of Union hands. He explains that he is writing of what he does and sees because he wants them back home to know what a soldier goes through.

George writes of a forced march in order to fight at Shiloh. Although his regiment missed the battle, he speaks of what he understood to happen at the Battle of Shiloh. Writing of the dead left on the battlefield George says, I saw hundreds and hundreds of them.

George writes of clearing the campground by cleaning the ground. He complains that this has to be done to the grounds nearly every morning to keep them from filth. He also writes a great deal about the food that his regiment has been eating, such as blackberries, huckleberries, and oven-baked bread.

George writes his mother about his father, whom he has not heard from since he was in camp at Corinth. He expresses outage at the killing of General McCook, who he says was kilt by a gang of merciless rebels and cutthroats. George states that these men murdered the general while he rode in an ambulance.

Fearing that rebels were on all sides of them, the regiment is currently marching. George has no idea whether they will end up in Knoxville or Chattanooga. He expresses concern that he has not heard from his father and frustration over his failure to secure a discharge. He tells his family that he expects that McClellan to end the war very soon.

Not far from Nashville, George expresses concern for his brother Nelson, who is fighting somewhere, and his father Ruebn, who is now at home.

George responds to the death of his mother and contemplates the possibility that his brother Nelson may also be dead. He calls these events a harsh blow to our little family.The circle is broken, he adds. Additionally, he laments Burnside's loss at Fredericksburg, and complains that the head men in this war were working more for sake of money than they are trying to save the union.