Vienna April 5 1863

Dear sister Abbie

I resieved your letter some
time ago and take my pencil in
hand to try to answer you. we are
now in camp in a little Village
in Va. and we are a keeping getting
nearer to the rebels. I expect the
next time we move we shall get
on to them. if we do not we shall
be mistaken. I was within about
2 miles of a battle the other day
our scouts was drove in and we
expected to be attacked that
night but we was sent and I hope
we shant be at the preasent.
our camp now is right side
of a railroad now and we
have to guard the track we do
not have to drill any more all
we have to do is picket duty
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and Camp duty. we expect that
we shall go back to camp to
morrow. we had a snow storm
last night and this morning
the snow was about 1 foot deep we
have more stormy weather out
here than we have to home. we
have had more snow and more
cold weather here this winter. we
are in shelter tents now and we
do not have room to sit when
i have to sit on my knapsack
and write this letter. we have
6 in a tent and 2 tents to sleep in
we hitch them together and make a
large tent of it. the place that we
are in now is a place which was
a flourshing plase before the war
broke out. their was a union man
here who kept the tavern. that was
[????]ned out of about 1000 thousand
dollars and a lot of other stuff
and was taken prisoner and
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was in Richmond and 8 months a
Prisoner. and the other day he
came out here and we was in camp
in his house and he said that he was
glad to see us so comfortable in
his house and he told us how he
was served when he was in Richmond
and he told some hard stories
and when we was ordered out he
said that if their was anything
on his premises that would make
us comfortable to take it and I got
two or three boards. he is what
I call a union man. he is a good
fellow. if all of the men north
was all like him the war would
been closed up before now.
my supper is ready now so I must
stop and eat it. we have to eat now
nothing but hard Bread and
salt junck. we had a few
Potatoes yesterday. and they
tasted good I tell you we got
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some soft bread this morning
and it tasted good I tell you
we are a going to have some salt
pork to day and I shall get my share
of it I bet you when I get home I
can eat anything in the pork line
I am a growing fat I weigh about
176 pounds and I am pretty healthy
just now. I must write a few
lines to father in this letter, we
are a going on picket to morrow
so we shall have to get ready for
it to day. we are about 15 miles from
Bull run. all of the Norton boys
are well at preasent but a boy that
come from Wi[??????] and he is sick
in camp but he has to go on guard
every day. Edgar is well at this time
and he is pretty rugged and tuff. he
has got a pair of whiskers as long
as Uncle Daniel are but not so pretty
how is uncle daniel getting along now
is he a living to our house now or
is he a going to move give my love
to all of the folks and tell them
that I am well from your Brother
Edwin A Lane

[1] is william to
home now or
has he gone
to his Regt yet