This information was given by Raymond Settle
of Mississippi
See photo : Settle Store
See also Sam Settle
and the Settle Family Story.
These are transcribed letters from
Thomas Benjamin (Ben) Settle.  He enlisted in the 23rd Mississippi Infantry Regiment as a Pvt. in 1861.
He escaped capture when the unit was defeated at Fort Donaldson.
  After returning home he enlisted as 3rd Sgt., Co. D in the 32nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment and wrote
these letters homewhile with the 32nd.  His brother Sam also servedas a Pvt. in the same company.
The original letters are in a collection in the University of Mississippi Library, Oxford, MS. 

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Thomas Benjamin (Ben) Settle enlisted at Kossuth, MS, August 1861, in the 2nd Regiment, 1st Brigade,Mississippi Voluteers.  This unit was transferred September 19, 1861, to Confederate service as the 23rdRegiment, Mississippi
Infantry.  Ben was a pvt. in Co. D.The regiment was defeated and many captured at Fort Donaldson, February 16, 1862.
Ben escaped, returned home, and joined Company D, 32nd Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, as 3rd Sergeant on March 13,
1862, at Kossuth, MS.  Company muster rolls show him present from May 1862 through April 1864.

Ben lived in Corinth and worked for Abe Rubel & Co. as a clerk.  He married Catherine D. Armstead in January 1870 and they had three children, Opie D., Edward R., and Albert A. Settle when they moved to Fannin County, Texas around 1888-89.  Ben is buried in Dodd City Cemetery, Dodd City, Texas.  All three of his children are buried in Fairview Cemetery, Denison, TX.

Sam and Ben were sons of David and Jane Settle who came from North Carolina and bought a farm in 1859 at Danville (now Biggersville) in Alcorn County,  MS. They had one other son that served with Ham's Cavalry Regiment and was
captured along with most of Gen.Nathan B. Forrest's force at Selma, AL in April, 1865.

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His Letters
         Miss Amelia Peters   Misses May & Sallie Stafford
                                                1863
                                                Camp Tullahoma Tenn
                                                March 27
        B Mr S. L. Settle     Kind Brother I take the present  opportunity of drafting you a few more lines thinking that you will get in the notion of answering some of my letters after a long while.  I have never read but one letter from you since I saw you and that affordedme great pleasure it was soon after our return from Kentucky.
I received a letter from sister Molliea few days ago which gave me great satisfaction.  I had writtenher a [letter] of ten pages and she says she had not received any letters from me. [I am]  sorry she did not get it as I gave her a discription of my travails  from the 1st of Dec to the 2nd of january which would seem some  what interesting to her.  Well I suppose you are at home now and I am in hopes you will be permitted to remain their unharmed as it is  more pleasant to remain their than to bealways  on the Trip. Aunt Eliza has gone to South Carolina Uncle Sam received a letter that she wrote while in Montgomery on her way Back She says she intends to go back to Miss this summerand go to  farming again but she is rather to notionate. I am in fine health every one says I look better than they eversaw me and  (you know if that is true you  have got a pretty LittleBud in the Army of Tennessee as you very well know that thewomen all thought me very handsome while I was in Mississippi Enough of this).  Aunt Eliza says you spoke of going into theservice this summer if you think your
health will admit of it  I would be glad to have you with us butif you think not you had better stayat home for I tell you if you come up here you will have to stay whetheryou like or not if ...think of taking the suttlers place inthe Regt you
had ...     Bring something of a stock with you and have your Bills made out so as you can afford to sell at such percent as you are to be governed by but I think that is played out I believe every man sells at his own price and no one interferes.
The Boys are generally well  JohnDilworth has gone out to the Country today to get his dinner  he took my canteen to bring me some milk.  John is as lively as he ever was and makes a good soldier.  George L. Boyd & George F. Boyd John Dil
Mclain and I are in one mess  we have had a cook  until last week and our rations was so short that we had to give him up  we do our own cooking.  Mclain &  I do the cooking and the other Boys make the fires  and get wood.
We are having a very good time now  we dont have much drilling to do.  We have been having several Gen Rivews and Inspections but they are a mere matter of moon shine now. I put in all myleisure moments thinking about my dearest
little black eyed Black haired sweet hart I wrote a long letter to Miss Patience Stringfellow the other day I gave her six pages of this kind of paper  I dont know what she will think of it and I dont  much  care.  James Buford is Act Adjtand Inspector General on Col Woods Staff  he is in tolerablegood health  ......... Settle sends his compliments to you  he is  in fine health  I must close as my paper is out

   TOP
         ... tell them all to write to me for I think often of ... .. all of the many happy Days we have spent
together ...
   RIGHT SIDE
         Give my Love to father mother Sisters and Brother an...
    LEFT SIDE
         I must close  I remain as ever your devoted brother
                                        Tho. B Settle


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2nd letter..,

                    Camp Near Chattanooga
                           Sept 29th 1863

            Dear mother as I have written to some of the rest and have time to write yet I feel it my duty to write you a few lines I am still in good health and able to eat all the rations I can get  I have no news of much importance to write as I
have written all the news I         had in other letters. I went down to see Henry Gatewood  yesterday  he is in the 34th Miss Regt  helooks very well  he is the very image of Bill  he gaveme some news about our old Marshall folks  he says
the Yanks has torn his father up very badly and every one else in that Country but they
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plenty to live on yet  Their has been several deaths their Old Lessie Harris is dead also Old man Lockard and Tatten that is old man prears Brother in law he says the Yanks took all old Prears negroes and everything he had to eat and whipped him
to boot.
Tom Prear is dead. the Yanks made a charge on Hudsonville and burned it.
James Liles got a discharge and went home and got married he married a Miss Mathews Sal is here  I have not seen him  Henry says he is looking very fine. Uncle Sam went to see some of the South Carolina Boys  he saw Bohnie Stringfellow and Norman Elder and several others that he was acquain
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-ted with and the gave him the sad intelligence of the  death of Robert Lewis  he was killed on the sixth of this month in Virginia I was truly sorry to hear of his death  I dont see how his mother will manage  now.  Uncle Sam received a
letter from Aunt Eliza  a few days since she was in fine health and seemed to be in good spirits  Well mother I am in fine health I weigh one hundred and forty pounds and am as  gray headed as Pa was when I left Home liking a little I am
as Lousy as a hog that is Body lice and have got the itch the worst you ever saw now I know you are ready to ay you Lazy Boy
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I know you could do better than that.  Well I will tell you the truth their is not a man in our Regt from the Coloneldown but what is Lousy  I dont make no more of sitting down in a crowd and pulling of my shirt and pickingthe lice off of me than I would to sit down to a good meals victuals at Home I have caught as manyas 4 or & 6 at onetime and the others more but we never write such things Home I thought I would let you know something about it.  Now I will have to close  give
my Love to all the family and except the same and Believe  me as ever your devoted son until death
                     Thos B Settle 

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3rd.Letter,                     [Wartrace]?
                     Watrace Tenn Dec 4th 1862
         Mr David Settle

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         out of the enemys line and were both in fine health  he could not  give me any late news from you but it was late news to me.  George Boyd got a letter from Dwite Stafford date of the 15th  of this month stating that you  were all well at that time and
that the enemy had not interrupted you nor Mr. Boyd.  I am in  hopethat they will not.
George Boyd  is in very good health John was left sick up in East Tenn near Moristown.  I heard  from him some time since he was no betterhis cabin  G. F. Boyd was left to wait on him  Fayette Settle  is in fine health Anthony Savage  is dead
also ___ Wardlow and  one of the Allen Boys and

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 probably two of them  they are not Allens Boys  the remainder of the Boys are in very good health. I am in hopes I will get  some news from home when Col Lowery returns from Mississippi I dont know that he will get up in your  part but I will hear from
 _____ and Mollie  well Father I have the satisfaction of knowing that I have made some of the enemy feel the effects of this war I had a very ______ ______ shot at a many one of the Boys andno doubt inmy own mind but that I sent some of them to their ____
homes but at the same time a many noble Boy of ours had to bite the dust  I thank god that I for one was spared to tell the

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This Time Capt. William Drianhas died since the Battle  he was wounded late in the evening inthe knee  his Brother Tom Drian  has just heard of ____________ Sad tonight while I am writing I am in a Mess with him  he isCommisary of our Regiment and
 a better man never breathed than  Capt Tom Drian  _____ Dilworth  Mad_____ & Billy McDougal was  wounded and Terry Estes  John   _____________________________ Thompson but slight  most of  them  Capt Montgomery was Mortally wounded and died
ina few days  I must close  give my Love to all and write thefirst opportunity
yours affect  Son                           Thos B Settle

              Mr David Settle
                           Kind Father
           I take the present opportunity of writing you a few lines to let  you hear from me I am in fine health and in better spirits than I have been for some Time  We have had a hard  fight near this place  it commenced on thenineteenth of this month and ended on the Twentyeth  we had a very hard fight  lost a great many men but succeded in driving the enemy from the field but they fought very stubbornly all the while but our men  went to the field determined to drive the enemy back and they fought with that determination  The enemy is at ChattanoogaThey have that place well fortified and we will have to devise some other means besides fighting to get them from this place.  I wasout on Picket in three hundred yards of the

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Yankies all night   They were busy building breast works all night so was our men we have a decided advantage of the Yankies here I think if we can get them routedfrom this place and can follow them  up we will clear North Mississippi of the Yankies.  I
fear that it will be a long timebefore we have peace but I believe it  will come some day but I dont know  whether I will live to see it or not  my time in this Regt is half out and I have been well blessed so far with health andin being spared from being cut
down  in Battle as  many of my comrades have. I have been in the service over two yearsand have not been in but two fights yet  I have been in several Skermishes but have not been in but two regular  Engagements and came out safe withouta scratch.
We have one of the Bravest Colonels in the world  he is not afraid of minnie balls nor anything else  I am much better pleased with  RIGHT SIDE Tell mother I have not forgotten her  I think of you all every Day.
 

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him than I was some time ago  I know I was deceived in the man I wish he was our Brigadier generalinplace of Colonel Jackson Hall was in This engagement he stayed at hispost all the Time and fought veryBravely but some of our Boys did not fight as
well as I thought they would but it was a very dangerous place and they were afraid fo getting hurt they were none of your acquaintenance that flickered  they stood square Thom Webster poor fellow was killedon Sunday very early after he gotinto the
fight  he was shot in theright breast died instantly  he was a noble young man  he was liked by every man that knew him in the Regiment but poor fellow he is gone.  The others that  were killed you were not acquainted  with them  they were all good
soldiers  The wounded was G. F. Rodison very slight _. G. Lidden very slight Elerson Walker
 

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also very slight G W Carter B. B. Baily and Jefferson Murly all slight  several of them are still with the company.  Well I reckon you are tired of such news as this  I was sorry to hear of Uncle Bensmisfortunes  I know it goes very hard  with him but
many others have faredthe same way.  Well Father I would send some money home but I fear that Confederate money will play out as soon as the war closes and I would loose it entirely  I will try to buy somethingthat will do me some good  I have fifty
Dollars on hand and willdraw some more this evening. Uncle Sam is in fine health  he just left here and gone to see there  he sends his Love to you all  I will  have to close  give my Love to all the family and except the same and
Believe me as ever your son until Death

                       T. Ben Settle

         LEFT SIDE

 I hope my dear little sister has recovered her health long
before this  Ben