Minors hill Va. Jan 28
1863
Dear father
I take my pen
in hand to inform you that
I am well and a sitting in
my tent a writing to you and
a thinking wheather I shall ever
see home a gain this year or
not I have made up my
mind that I shall not before
another year rolls over our
heads. I am a going to send
you 10 dollars in this letter
and my Minature in Mothers
it does not look very much like
me but it is as good one as
I could get so it must do.
how does the mill go this
winter do you have much
sawing to do their is not
many good water priveliges
[page 2]
out here. the rebels burned
down a pretty saw mill and
it was worth about 10.000 dollars
it is the prettiest place for one
that I ever saw their is a good
steam mill down by fallchurch
but they folks say that it has
not saw[ed] any sinse the war
broke out. as for stuff their
is enough to last a hundred
good sawyers 10 years it is
mostly pine and Chestnut
and oak their is Chestnut out
here from 2 to 4 feet through
any quanity of them and the
pines are about 2 feet through
they are mostly pitch pine
the weather out here is not
very pleasant in this seasons
of the year our troops have
cleaned up most of the
wood around here but I
must close from your son
Edwin A Lane