Falmouth Va. Feb. 8th /63

Dear Friend
how do you
do this plessant morning
how I should like to be
at home to day and go
to meeting I havent been
to meeting but once or twice
since I come came out here.
I received your letter of
the 27th of last month last
week and was vary glad
to hear from you so you
have been fating up like
I and the rest of us I
had rather hear that than
to hear that you wer sick
I rekon that I am about
as big as aney of the
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Sodom boys aney way
I bring the scales down
to 185 lbs. so they have
been having a Levee [1] up to
Pownal did you see the
Sweetser girls Sil. & Lide
and if so how wer they
and the Noyes girls how
ar they I should like
to see them all. so Frank
True goes courting well Hat
the next time you see him
ask him if he has been
to boston and I guess
he will know what
you mean if he doesent
you tell him who told
you to ask him and
he will take the hint.
tell him that I am going
to write to Lizzie Merrill
and tell her how he
performed at Augusta
[page 3]
last Winter. has Frank
Soule aney one in particular
that he goes with you
say that he wrote
to me I did not get
it tell him to try it
again: we have had some
snow out here it hasent
all gon off yet there
is considerable talk of
going to N. C. or S. C.
the 9th Armey Corps has
gon already but I donot
kow whether we will go
or not we havent had
to leave our Mansion
yet, I dont know as I
ever told you the name
of our establishment it is
Pine Grove Mansion
I havent seen David
for quite a while I was
down to the 17th the other
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day but didnot see many
of the boys: we have been
runing on oppersition to the
Sutlers they wer making to
much money so Harris
and I went down to the
Landing and got two Cheeses
and a bbl. of sweet cakes and
we had a fine time coming back
for it rained and the road was
all full of holes. we broke the
harness twice and one fill [2] besides
geting as wet as a sop got
lost and had to lay out all
night we have sold them and
cleered betwene $16 and $17 besids
eating all we wanted. I’ll
give you the price of
a fiew things butter from 65
to 75 cts. lb. Chees 10 to 50 cts. a lb.
Apples that are a little larger
than walnuts three for a quarter
Cakes 10 for a quarter. Navy Tobacco
$2 a lb. daly papers 10 to 15 cts.
and other things in like manner
wher things are as cheep as
that folks can afford to live on
[???] things well my sheat is full
[continued in left and top margin of page 1]
write as often as you can for letters are always
acceptible remember
me to all
the folks
always the same
Friend All