In Camp Near Fredericksburg Virginia
June the 1st 1863.
Dear and Affectionate Wife
You cannot imajine with what
pleasure I received your long looked for
letter which come to hand on the 25th of last
month bearing date May the 21st From which
I was informed that you and children wer geting
along tolerable well with the exception of some
sickness which I hope will terminate without anything
of serious consiquence. I can inform you that I am
enjoing tolerable good helth at presant. Last week
I come very near loosing my left eye We was
ordered to cleen up around camp and while I
was heaping bresh I got holt of one that lay in
the road during muddy weather and the wagons had
run over it and burried the big end in the mud,
and the dirt had dryed upon it, so it was fast
I went to pull it out or break it off and when
I got it bent nearly double it flew out of the
dirt with great fource and struck me in the face
across the left eye bruseing my eye ball and scareing
up my face turible so much so that every person
I come across would ask me if I had not been fighting
or a bum hadent struck me it is geting better
I can begin to see out of it a little between the
swelled eyebrow and cheak I think it will get well soon,
[page 2]
I have no news of great importance to wright to you
we are still laying here waiting for the enemy to
moove or advance on us, we have a good many
more men here than we had at the last battle
some of our company that was taken prisners by
the yankees have got back to camp ( Sam Flynt & segt Edmonsoon)
They say there is any amount of yankees between here
and Washington City and looks like it is almost useless
for us to fight against so many They say with all
the great army that is aginst us They cant miss the
men from where they are taken eveeryting is cheap
over there Orenges you can get 3 for ten cents and at
Richmond They are Five dollers a piece That is a considerable
difference and it is so with everything. They could not
get much information from the yankees about their looss
in the last battle They now say thay dont want to whip
us They can only say that as an excuse for not doing it
I hope They will soon say they will let us alone.
and be at peace with each other. just to think how
many poor soldiers have been killed and died of
sickness only Thirty five hundred North Carolinians was
killed and wounded this last fight It is dreadfull
to think of and I sometimes think I would give
all I have in the world to be shut of the ware
But some must fight the battles get killed or wounded
While others can stay at home enjoying all the happyness
and pleasurs they ever did but I must be content as it is my lot
[page 3]
I was glad to learn that you was giting along with
the farm as well as you wrote and that the
Garden and truck patches looked flourishing I hop
you will get along well and make enough to do
you and have some to make another cropp with
If you can have good luck to save the grain and
grass with a good cropp of corn you can make
out verry well I think. I hope you will not expose
or overdo yourself in trying to save two much I am
not willing that should be done but you can
save a great deel by contriveing the right way and
seeing to thing in good time this you know very
well and must be your own judge.
I should like to be at home with you all
to eat onions peas and Radishes and I could take
some Strawburies in pies if there is any as it
is about time for them to be ripe. A ripe
cherry tree and a fat fryed pullet before long would
look charming to the eye But So I have forgot how
they would last as we here tell of nun of these
thing being in camp These are some of the good
thing that you all enjoy at home While we poor
soldiers stand up or lay down to rusty bacon and
musty flower and hardly time eat it, I hope you
all will consider your case and think it is
not the worst in the world If I only had to make
and eat I could be satisfied but fighting yankees is not
[most of line cut off in photocopy] meat [?] it was salted
[page 4]
I received a letter the 28th which informed me
that Mr Clayton was dead. I herd it the eavning
before I recived the letter, I was sorry to here of
his death I have not received but one letter [from?]
Jack since he left, and that was soon afterwards.
There was a letter come here for him from Sid.
I broke it open and red it, he was well and at
Franklin Depot on Blackwater i was sorry to here
that your Pap was so poorly and had no one to do
work on the farm It seams bad after he has worked
hard and raised all his boy and needs them now
to do and wait on him, in his helpless old age
they have to be taken away,
I have not done anything but lay about
camp since the battle I see quite a easy time
I carry water and wood sometimes but they have
not put me to drilling yet sometimes wait on the
sick my feet is as tender as a childs and the most
of the boys feet is sore we have warm days and
cool nights with dry weather you must not be in so
much trouble you must consider that we cant help
the conditon in which we are placed and that things
will come right some day It is not worth while to
studdy about it It would of killed me long ago if I
had give up to it. I must close hopeing these fiew and
uninteresting lines ma find you all well so no more I
remain your affectionate husband until death J C Zimmerman
To Martha A. Zimmerman