Feb 20th [1863]

Washington N.C.

Dear friends at home

I now take my
pen in hand to write to you
to let you no that I am
well and taking the
comforts of life as they
come we are having a
good time here garisoning
a block house on the
bank of the palmico [1]
river we are having an
easy time we have to go
on guard once in four
days we do not have to
stand out on picket all
night as we used to at
new port barracks nor
at batchelors creek we hav
a pleasant and healthy plac
I never enjoyed my self
[page 2]
better in my life I have
got two or three boats and
I am on the water the biges
part of my time when not
on the water I am in the
saw mill thare is the bigest
saw mill here that I ever
saw thare is two sets of gang
saws they have from ten
to twenty saws in a gang
they have two engines to
carry them they can saw
ahole log as quick
as they can saw one bord
at seth gilberts mill
I have ben in the speculating
buisness alittle since I have
ben here but I guess it has
about played out for thare
is no eggs to buy now I guess
I will not write mutch about
it for Chauncey has wrote
[page 3]

all about it the rebs
are getting to be pretty saucy
they send in word evry few
days that they are a coming
in sutch a time we pay bout
as mutch attention to it as
we do to the wind there was
a squad of them shoad themselves
on the oposite side the river
the other day and the gun
boat tosted a shell in among
them the cavelry went out
the other day and capturd
seven prisnors and fourteen
horses we here since that
they have got about a
hundred whare we took
them seven I wish that you
could look in here you would
think it was a writing school
we got a mail this morning
and the boys are writing
[page 4]
in answer to those that
they recived from home
for the mail leaves to
morrow morning at
seven oclock I presume
you are having cold and
blustring weather there now
and the ground is covered
with snow while here it
is not cold enough to ware
an over coat please excus
me for this time for it
is so long since I have
had a pen in my hand
that I have almost
forgot how to hold
one give my best
respects to all the
young folks and tell
them to write and I will
answer them

A Holcomb