[patriotic illustration at top left of page]

Washington D.C. Oct 22 1862
My Dear Nell here we is all
right My health is good as
usual I had some cold when I left but
it is some better now if I did
not get any more last night as I
was on guard. I cant say that I
think much of this place any how
it is horid dusty and the wind
blows ike fury most all the time
it blows a hurricane to day and
the dust as thick as it can be
We had very pleasant ride from
Portland to Boston the cars would
Stop once in a while and the boys
would get out and steal
apples turnips and such like
things. We marched through Boston
and tood the cars for Fall
River I saw Persis in the Depot
a few minutes and that was
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all the people I saw in B- that I knew
the ride from B- to Fall River was
very pleasant the weather was fine
and the road in good condition .
We arrived at F. River at dark and
marched on board the Steamer
State of Maine where we laid in about
such a place as your Barn floor is only
we had but 7 ft in width to
lay two tier in So we had to stow
tolerable close as Ruf used to say
however we lived through it
and the next morning after sun-
rise we had a fine view of N York
harber the Islands forts shipping &c
The Great Eastern lay in the harber
and we passed within 1/8 of a mile of
her she did not look as large as I
Expected. We landed in Jersey
City at 9 oclock A.M. where some
generous citisen had provided some
soup bread and coffee fer us.
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we stoped about an hour and
the took the cars fer Philadelphia
and I certainly think I never
saw any place where it looks so
much like a garden as the state
of N. Jersey the ground is level
and just the color of brick dust
it looks queer to see red roads
the soil appears to be very deep
the most of the way. The vilages
are splendid the cars running right
through the center of several and
they were by all odds the finest
places I Ever saw the trees were
very green as there had been no frost
apples appeared to be plenty and peach
orchards were thick and large but the
peaches are all gone some time ago by
the looks of things. We came along by
the side of the Delaware Canal
a piece it is some thing of a canal
to what we see North. After we
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passed that we came upon the
Delaware and Raritan canal which
is 43 miles long and so large that
[????] the size of those that carry hay
from from Yarmouth Some of the boats
got by steam but the most of them went
by mule power mules are the principal
part of the teaming animals this side of
N York. The Government Teams here have
4 mules on them 2 abreast and the driver
has a saddle on the near hind one and
rides on him and drive with one
rein. We arived in Philadelphia
about dark and took some supper at
an institution that finds grub fer all
volunteers and good grub. We then
marched through the city but could
see nothing except that the streets were
wid and the people glad to see us.
we took the cars fer Baltimore a poor
miserable fright train poorer cars
than any you ever say on the
roads at the Noth we filld in 45
of us in one car and a miserable time
we had