Newbern NC [September] the 30 1862
Dear father and mother it is not
long since i wrote but as you requested
me to wright often i will try and do
so my helth is pretty good now
hopeing that you are as well and all
the others &c has electa got home yet or
has she gon back does she hear from
sumner often and whare is he you
wrote that he was in washington
is he there now and what does he
think of the war as for my part
i dont hear much knews but now
while i am talking about it there
was quite a fleet went out this morning
they took about all them knew
troops they hadent bin here but
a few days i dont know whare they
are going but are going to take
some place not far disant they
took five companes of the twenty third
[page 2]
but H is left but fred went
and the other man i think
i should gon but i dident know
it till it was to late i was on
gard the knew troops thought
it was tuff they thought they was
coming in here and do gard duty
and let us take the blunt that
dident quite work general
foster ses they have gotto do there
three years work in nine months
if so there will be a speady end to
the war i think there will be a
great change betwixt now and the first
of january i hear that they are atcking
at charlston it is to good news
to beleive but i hope it is so & [??]
we are rushing the men into
the field i shouldent think
they could stand it much
longer have they begon to draft
in harvard yet i hurd they wer
in groton i hope they will draft
[page 3]
like and bill farnsworth
i hurd that John huse was
driven out of minisota by the
indans and he was at home now
and he and like went out
guning most every day is that
the best they can do & now i suppose
you are don harvesting by this
time and have you got a good
crop of potatoes and corn rye and
beans and apples and all the good
things has Father begon his mill
down in the meddow i suppose he
is going to get out a lot of shingles
this winter & have you bin over to andover
this fall or be you going and what
is the knews over there did you
stop to miss jewetts how are they
all there they live whare they
did i suppose is charlie to work
out how does that yongon get along
is frank over to unkles yet is
he going to stay there this wnter
[page 4]
now i dont think of much more
to wright but have you hurd
from hamshire lateley you wrote
that becky father had enlisted
i dont se what made him do so
he is quite a old man now you
havent wrote whether you have put
my money in the bank or not
now i must draw to a close so good
by wright often as you can with
love from James
[1] i want you to send me out some more stamps