Camp Dale. June 18th 1863
Dear parents once agan
I take my pen in hand
to answer your last letter
which i received in dew
season and was very much
pleased with it. and to hear
that you were all well
my health is good hopeing
that this will find you
the same. i had a letter
from granvill dickerson
at the same time i got
yours. and you dont
know the pleasure i
have in reading a
letter from home
or about there. i wrote
a letter to aunt heriet
a week or two ago but
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i have not got eny
answer from her yet
though i dont know as
it is time yet. now
i suppose you want to
know what i think
of the picture i think
it is a first rate
likeness but it seems
as though father looks
rather old though he
is getting into years. now
you wrote that you
would like to have mine
taken if it dident cost
to much to see if i had
alterd i dont think
i have only from bad
to worse but i havent
had it take since i
came our here but i
have though[t] two or three
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times i would
i think i will send
it the next time
i get paid of[f] now you
wanted to know if i dident
think that fred had
aught to be premoted
if a man is going
to want to be in the
line of premotion from
a private to a
commissioned oficer it
takes some time. it takes
one hundred enlisted men
for a company there is
eight corprals and five
sergents to be picked our
of them each holds a
warent and is stiled the
non comisioned oficers of the
campany. now there has bin
several corprals jumped him
to sergents which i think [1]