Winchester VA Dec 30th 1864
Good morning Betsy last
night I receved your kind
and welcome letter and
wase glad to hear frome
you all and when this
reaches you I hope that
it this it will find you all
in as good health as
it leaves me in tell Abby
that I am very much ablidged
to her for sending the money
it came safe I am all
alone in my tent today
my tent mate is down
to the Generals on guard
and it snows like the duce
but I have got a good
comfortable fire and
nothing to do but to sit
by it and see it burn
[page 2]
I dont know how it will
bee but I think before spring
that I can get a furlow
but I may not I cant tell
yet you woulent hardly
know me now I am
getting to bee fat live
on beafsteak such like
have a [tost?] once in a
while the[y] is sombodys
cows comes up here every
day and we mess them
alittle and when the
aint no boddy looking
just slip out and get
a cup full it dont take
your huble servent long
to fill his cup and prety
often to Jane is married
well I herd of that before
she youst to write before
she got married but she
haint since I sopose she
[page 3]
is to busy with her
domestic afairs
we have been mustered
for eight monts pay
today and shall probly
get it sometime next
month with two installments
of fifty dollars each
our pay hase been increased
since last may mine
is eighteen dollars a month
quite a little pile I
gess that I shall have to
by a farm when I get
home for good and get
some one to take charge of
the domesticks: if you see
eny one that you will
think will answer just give
them my compliments and
tell them about what kind
of chap you have got for a
brother out here in the army
[page 4]
tell them it will bee
dificult for them to do any
better that is all I believe
of that I have been rather
hard up for tobacco but I shall
get along now I sopose that I
had orght to write to Marcenia
and I gess that I will before
long tell Marm if I come
home this winter that I shall
bring her a blanket tell
Eli if I come and get paid
off before that I am agoing
to try and by a rifle [1] that
will shoot sixteen times
without loading the[y] is
plenty of them here and
the aint no cilender brich [2] to
them neather the barriel is
about two foot long the[y] wase
a regement had them here and
thay went out on the skirmish line
and the rebs came up and our
boys give it to them crack crack
and the rebs could not stand it
and run but our fellows touck
some prisoners and they wanted to
know if our boys staid up all
night to load and do nothing
but fire all day I shall
have to draw to a close now
write soon as convenient
[3] this frome your
brother Jairus
good by