Camp Near Port Royal Va
Feb the 15th 1863
Dear Wife
With great pleasure
I take my pen in hand to
inform you that I am enjoying
a reasonable portion of helth
at presant and hope when this
letter comes to hand it may
find you all injoying the great
blessin of good helth the company
is in tolerable helth at this time
though several death have occurd
in the Regt. latly I have no news
of any great importance yestardy
Was a fine prety day this moning
it is clowdy and a raining and
looks like continuing so for some time
I hope it may rain a gooddeel
as it will keep the yankeys back
that much longer as it appears
they try or make preportations to
advance across the riveer every prety
spell of wether that comes
[page 2]
yestarday the news come in camp
that the yankey had halled
timber down to the river to make
a bridg to cross over Gen Hooker
Says that Gen Longstreet has go to
Tenissee and the most of the other
soldiers are gon to North Carolina
and it will be a easy job to
thrash what fiew that is left here
But if every he crosses the river
he will find out who is here in
time to get his hook broke he
will get a wors thrasen than Gen
Burinsids got some of our men is
wishing for them to come so as we
can give them a good whipen as
for my part I dont care if they
never advance any more I well
know if they do some boddy is
bound to get hurt. I think that
these tales about the yankeys going
to advance is rumered so as no
Furlows can be granted and so they
can keep the soldiers here and
[page 3]
the officers will not be to blame
about furlows. I have not hern
from min furlow saince it left
here some of my officers think
I will get it yet if it keep bad
wether so there will be no chance
for the yankeys to advance It is
bound to come back approoved or
disapprooved the Officers has come
back disapprooved as no officers are
allowed furlows it ma be that mine
ma come back in the same
way If I donot get to come home
you must hire some one to make
a cropp or rent the ground to some
one that you think will tend it
if you could hire a hand cheep
it would be the best one that
will work and can do any thing
what we call a good able hand
Wm Clayton hired one he told
and it wood of been well for
you to of hired one before this
time if you could of got one
[page 4]
that wood of sooted you the
rent will over pay the higher of
a hand and then you can have
them all the time to do such
notion as you want about the house
all the truck patches you will have
to hire some one to work I think
it would be cheeper to hire a good
hand evan if you had to give $150
175 dollars it wood only be 50
or 60 centus a day and to hire
hands by the day it will cost
3 or 4 dollars a day and it wont
take long to amount to two hundred
dollars and no extry work at that
you must not expect any help from
me this summer or spring as I would
have to runaway and if I got home
safe the malitia officers would be
after me and to fight them that
would not do so I have to bare with
my lot until higher athorities releas
me I must close Wright soon your husband
M. A. Zimmerman JC Zimmerman