Newbern. N.C. Aug 29th [1862]
Friends at home

I take my pen
in hand to write you a few lines to
let you no that I am well
and hope that these few lines
will find you the same
we received one from Mother this
morning dated the 17th and one from
charles we wer glad to here from
southwick and that you are getin
along so well in raising men for
the service but I am sorry that they
pay them bounty for I want them
to draft so to make some of
them secesh bugars squirm I would
like to have that are cousin of
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mine drafted and see how he
likes the land of dixey and
the black greasy niggars he
would not think so mutch of
them after he had seen so mutch
of them as I have. I hear that
mister horner has enlisted I should
think it would make it bad
for father to see to his crops
and evry thing. Mother seys that
she wants to have me send her
my picture I sent one the last
mail it was not a good one it
was not plain it is not as good
as he takes now i would send
one by this mail but he is
fixing a little so he dos not
take enny now but will be
at it in a day or too
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I will try and get one
by the next male and I
will have a good one to or
none I will have it taken in
evry day close so that you can
see how I look around the
camp. we are not aloud to
ware raged close ore dirty
shirts if we do we are reported
and made to clean up we
ware most all wollen close
our shirts are half woollen
and half cotton I make it
a practis to change once a
week the same as I did at
home we have a good chance
to wash we can go to the
river when we are a mind
to and can have kittles soap
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and so forth a plenty so thare
is no nead of goin dirty but
some had wrather go dirty
and get spoken to evry day
almos than to wash a shirt
here is the place to find
out a persons charctor . yo can
tell what a fellow is prety
quick thare is no sutch a thing
as being honest here a fellow
haves to steal a little once
in a while in order to live at
all. you wanted to no who tented
with me thare is eleven of us all
thare is gorge, alden then worden
woodworth, hantchet surls from
wentfeild [aren?] from boston
corpral rose from geanvill lindsy
from rusel Chatfield from Cole
brook rivers he is a nasty mean
fellow the rest are all good fellows
A Holcomb