General Hospital 21 June 28th 1863
Mrs Martha J Brown
Dear friend
I now seat my self to answer your letter of
the 17th which came to hand yesterday
and I will write you the truth a bout
him as near as I can he was taken sick
a bout the time of the last fight he was
in which I have no doubt he wrote you
he then got better and performed his
duty as a soldier until some 6 or 8 [??] days
before he was sent to this Hospital I
dont think though that he was ever right
well any more after he was first taken
we were both sent here the second day of
this month and he died the 4th I think
that I wrote it was the 5 but after reflectin
I found it was the 4th as to his treatment
it was as good as could be expected in
camp or Hospital he was pretty well
attended to by the doctors and after
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we come here I waited on him some that is I give
him water and held his plat for him while
eating though he never had much appe
tite for they give him nourishments
here that he could hav eaten if he had
had any appetite I think he was in his right
mind to the last a bout two hours I recon it
was be fore he died he called me to him
and said he wanted me to stay with him for
he should die but I tried to encourage
him the doctor had put some sort of plas
ter on his breast and told him to ly
on his back and he beged me to not let
him turn over if droped to sleep it was
not long be fore they come with his medi
cine and they turned him on his side and
he died in a very few minits I never heard
him com plain of any pain only in his head his
breathing was very fast for the last day or
two as to home I never heard him say one
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word about it not in his sickness me and
him in our health were very often talking
a bout it he all ways expresed a great dissatisfaction
at being absent from his home and family
as to the way he was put a way I no nothing
for as soon as a man dies here he is taken
out to what they call the ded house and no
boddy seas how they are put a way I see
the coffins as they bring in and cary them
off they look very well as I got the oppinion
of the ward master a bout your giting
him home he said that his grave was
marked so that you could ascertain which
it was and he said he did not think
that you could git transportation for
him with out the boddy had bin em
balmed for the purpose and said if
you could it would cost you a bout tow
hundred Dollars but but I cant sea
how it would cost that much neather do
I beleave it would but I think if I
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were you and done it at all I would let it
a lone until next winter as he has bin
buried so long now as to his money I dont
no what to do with it but [rist?] it in this
letter I expect to leave here in a few days
and after I leave here and git to where
the armey is now there will not be even the
chance of sending it in a letter I will
also inform you that there is one month and
four days wagers due be sides his boun
ty which you are entitled to and which
I hope you will git and if there is any
thing else you wish to no a bout him in
any way write to me and I will take pleasure
in giving you all the information that I
can a bout him so I must close for it is
now a bout dark please excuse bad write
ing and spelling for the citty is a live
with excitement to day on acont of yankeys
being so near yours truly
J. D. Bachelor

[Bachelor was killed at the fight at Payne’s Farm, VA on November 29, 1864]