the 4th 1862
Fedricks Burg Citty Maraland Sept
my Dear wife I this day Seat my self
to rite you afew lins to inform you that
i am well at present hoping those few lins
may Come to hand and find you and fmily all
well & Doing well we have Been into the greatest
Battle that has ever Ben faught Since the war
commense we taken manasas and got
what we all wanted to Eat and
tuck 2 Days Rasins with us and Burnt up
the plaice and we Stope 2 long trains
of Cars that was lodided with Campt
Equipeage and Clothing and Medical
Stors tha was all yankee Clothing and
the dont suit us to war in our Ranks
we Burnt up the plaice and Burnt up
the Cars it is said that we taken 200
thousand Dollars worth of provisions
and other stuff and we taken agreat
many prisners and we taken about
three hundred Negros that the yankes
had with them Some of them was free
and Some of them Belonged to the Citizens
of Virginia and then went to the old
Battle ground of Manasas and ther
we had the greatest Battle that has
Ever Ben fought since the war Began
[line obscured by fold] the old Battle ground
and the enemy fled from ther feild
with agreat loss every Day and
we was in the fight 3
Days though we did Not loose
But afew men Considering the length
of time that we was engaged in the
action thar was Not But 50 of my
Company that was in the fight
and we all [Came?] through it all
[page 2]
Saif Richard Mils had Ben at the
horsepittle sick and was Coming to us and
he got with 14 th Ala Regt and [went?]
in to Battle with them and he got kild
he was shot through the heart and last Friday
we all waided through the Patomac River &
Came over into maraland and we ar
Stopt today Near Federicks Burg and [1]
to Nite or tomarrow we will Start
to Baltimore we ar in 15 mils of
the City of Baltimore the People all
treats us very well in this Contry
and ther is agood many Joind our army
in 2 Days we have receved one Regt into
Jacksons Division and the yankes
has all lelft this part of the Contry
I supose that tha have all gone to washingto[n]
to make preperration for us against we git
ther I [think] that the People of
marerland is the Best people in the
world as we Come along the roaid
the People Come out and would Bring
great Jars of Milk and Butter and
Bred and would give to us as we
Come along the roaid and we Cam
By Any thing we woant for asong and
Sing the Song our selves Lafayette
Mcknight is Dead he dide About
the 5th of August I have [not] seen John
Jackson Nor Narry one of the Simes in
8 weeks tha war absent from the regt
when we moved and I have Not heard
Nothing from them since I got aletter from
L M. Webster last Nite and his and A E carlisle family
was well and so was Billy so I must Close for this
time Direct you letter to Richmond 47th Ala Vol in the 3 Briga[de]
under genral Jackson E.B. Coggin