Hope Landing Verginia
March 11th 1863
Deer brother this Eavening i amfou
nd a mongst the liveing and in Joying
good helth and whilst i am blest with
helth thrue toyl and danger that i
have had to pass ihope you may have the
Same blessing when i started from mi
home and bid fare well to companion and
childron and brothers little did i drea
m what i had to pass threw and more
than this i did not think i could un
dergo what i have went threw i have su
ffered more hardships within seven month
that i have ben gon than i have in all
mi life this winter it has more than
half the time we have had to lye down
on the cold ground Exposed to rain
and snow and maney has ben the time
when we arose in the morning our Close
was was so wet we could ring them
out many has ben the time we have
ben Starved whilst we was on the march that
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we would give ten sents for one hard cracker
sometimes we have aplenty to Eat and sometimes
we have not our ridgmant is geting small out
of one thousand and forty one that we started
with we have got two hundred and fourty one
that is now fit for dooty tha are dying Evry day
and this Evening iam taking care of one that
cant live long and many others that are sick
how long it will be before it will be mi lot
god onley knows ihave indeverd to take the best
care of mi self i cood but the best is but poor
and i am satisfide if this ridgmant has to
yet pass threw what i[t] has thare will not be one
that will be left to tell the horribel tail
of this unholy unJust and wicked war
if we could had the sam treetment that other
rigmants had thare would not ben so many
homes made to morn over thare lost
husburn or son that was so un Justley
that brought about no good in saving the
cuntry but i hope in god the time will soon
be brought about when we that are a live can
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go to thare homes and inJoy those Happy ours
that has ben spent with deep anxiety
of some day inJoying some happy our
at his own fireside that he can have a dry
place onse more to lay his weary head [??]
i have ben very sick in the fall it was some
time that i thought i never woulds mi [??]
home but i have ben spard thrue mi sickness
and am now a live and as well as cood be
Expected i way now 162[4?] but to be the man
i was when i came in the army John [1] is well
and so is Frederick [2] i am now seting up with
a sick young man and it is a chance if he lives till
sundown to morrow he is from Burdett
by the name of Georg Cutler [3] his half brother
is gon home to Burdett on a ten days furlow
but when he gets back he will not find
poor george in his tent it is nothing to see
men dye heare but it seems tuff to me to
see men after tha have gon threw toyl
and danger dye without friends and
want of care buried more like the
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horse or muel than aney thing
that i can compare him and i am
trying to doo all i can to cumfort
the aflicted i wount talk about
rebles nor fighting them for i heare so
much of that kind of brag that
i furbare it is now four oclock
in the morning and i must close
you must write often as you
can So good buy Brother
Christopher Van Loon
To Abraham Van Loon