Secessionville August 1st
1862
Dear wife
It is with pleasure that
I seat my self this morning
to write you a few lines to
inform you that I am well
except a riseing on my finger
it is quite painfull though
something on the mend I hope
these few lines may find you
you and the children well
and hearty also Father and
the girls I wrote to yow last
Sunday and sent the letter by
E. J. Beck which I hope yow
have received Mr. Caleb
Killingsworth is down here now
and I expect to send this
by him I have nothing new
to write as every thing is
quiet and has been for some
time you can tell Johns wife
that he is well and hearty
Frank Green is sick with fever
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the rest of the boys from
our neughbor hood are quite well
and are doing fine I hear
some pretty bad tales on old
Triggen and her son Billy
I am told they swore two
ways a bout Bills age and
were both turned out of the
church on last saturday and
worse than all for from Bill
has has to go in the army
after all their trouble I
wonder if old Triggen has tried
priers pond a gain to see if
it is deep enough to drown her
a gain I think if I were her
I would try it standing on my
head this time I also hear
that some one has writen a
peice and put it up at the
church about some of the
poor afflicted young men that
are exempt from the conscript
if I wer one of the poor
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afflicted men I would go now
and join some company and
die in camps before I would
stay at home and be looked
upon with contempt by th
old men women and children
I should like to know who wrote
the peice if I can find our who
it is and ever see them I
intend to treat them to some-
thing handsome
Dear Martha I thought the
first of this week that I was
comeing home but it is turned
out so I cant come yet
I will mention how it was
the Colonel told captain
Thompson to detail three
men to send after them
that wen[t?] a way from
here Leutenant Best J F
Johnson and myself were
detailed for that purpose and
our furloughs were sent to
General Smith but he would [not]
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approve them so it was no go
I was in hopes that by this time
to have been able to have seen
you all but not so I do not
know when I will get the chance
to come home but hope it wont
be long as it would give me
great pleasure to see you all
and to tell you what I have
seen and heard since I left
home tell Jimmy he must not
think hard of me for not writing
to him for when I write to you
I intend for him and Ida too
he must write to me and let
me know how him and Ida
is getting on and tell me all
the news on Joices Branch
I must close by saying write
soon kiss the children for me
and let them kiss you also
I remain your ever loveing
husband Joseph .A. Drummond