Picket Guard By the Potoman
(Near Seneca Mills Maryland)
Sunday. January 19th 1862
Dear Sister

today being Sunday I
thought I would write a few lines it
is a very stormy day. a rain storm began
Friday night and it is raining yet but
it is not cold. the mud is foot deep
around here lucky we have good boots.
no signs of our box yet and we dont expect
to get it till we get a receipt from you if
you have one to send us so that we can prove
that a box was sent us. if you had only
directed it to Capt Rice as I wrote
you to it would have come right through
but I suppose you didnt get the letter
till after you sent the box we dont care
about loseing the eatables if we get the
vests and gloves & knives. the vests will
do firstrate with our new uniforms
I wrote you that we were going to have the
[page 2]
Zouave uniform. that was the report but
we have got the regular United States
army unifrom. blue frock coats with
gilt buttons and brass scales or rather
epaulets on the shoulder and pants of
light blue. we are going to have ours to-
-morrow except the overcoats, we can have
the overcoats or keep our old ones as we choose
if we draw the new overcoats we will have
to pay for them out of our clothing allowance
$3.50cents per month. when we get in camp
I think Jake and me will get the new coats
and send the old ones home. for if we
get killed or die I dont think they
would pay you the money due us from
our clothing allowance. our old overcoats
will cost us 6 dollars and as they are good
cloth and as good as new I guess you can
manage to get 6 dollars worth out of them
we dont have to pay for cloths out of our
monthly wages unless we draw more then
our clothing allowance. the talk is now
that Col” Hinks is made a
[page 3]
Brigadier Genl and that his
Brigade consists of the 19th. 20th. 17th.
and 15th Mass Regts and that we are going
to Anapolis Maryland in a short time
to go with Butlers or Burnsides
Expedition and that probably we will go
to Ship Island on the southern coast
close to New Orleans. you have it as
cheap as I got it.it is to good news for us
us to believe although it came from our
surgeon and other high officers.  if we
should go there we would stand a better
chance of smelling gunpowder then we
do here.  it is too much like  “Home guard”
to be here. Glory: wouldnt I be in my
glory to march through the streets of
Neworleans next spring under the stars
and stripes and to the tune of “Dixie”
dis child would have a little private bus-
-iness with the cuss that shiped me of to
France last spring. I am willing to go
through any danger and suffer any hardship  
to see that day come  but I expect that is
[page 4]
all talk got up to keep our spirits
up.  I dont know wheather we will go
to camp this week or not. they say we
are going tomorrow or next day.  but
we are going to have dinner now. baked
beans. bread and butter. coffee all
of our own make. Jake cooked the
beans. good bye for the present. Lyman

P.S. Sunday night. 7 o’clock
                       the storm holds on
yet and no signs of it holding up.
our new uniforms are comeing down from
camp tomorrow all but the new overcoats.
there is a good warm blanket for each
one. I hardly think we will go to camp
this week. I hope not at any rate. Jake is
on guard from 6 to 8 tonight. it is dark
as pitch but no rain just now.  if I get
any news between this and morning I
will write a line more then write soon
goodbye LyBlackinton