Newbern Sep. the 10, 1863
Dear Father and Mother
I take my pen in hadn
to write you a few lines
to let you know that
i am well hopeing
that his will find you
the same i received a letter
from you the other day
with a note in it from
John and lizzie stateing
that they were at home
and stateing that John was
exempt i was glad to hear
it for he felt so bad
about it and they dont
take eny short of three
years that is a good
while to be kept from
his friends i feel as though
i had bin away a good
while now i will draw to a close
[page 2]
Newberne Sep. the. [13?]. 186[3]

Dear Parents
A good Oppotunity offeres
me to write to you which
i shall not delay i comenced
a letter to you the tenth
but as i had nothing
to write about i soon
closed it. though i have
nothing of eny account
to write about this time
more then to wear away
the lonesome howers
but still i may make
a bad job of it for it
is so dark that i can
hardly see the line there
being a heavy thunder
shower coming up such
thunder and lightning
as they have out here
[page 3]
would astonish the natives
of massachusetts but
let me not reflect on this
subject eny longer i received
a letter from electa to day
and was very much astonished
to find hur in meriland with
hur husband for i think
home is the place for wemin
not our amongst such a crowd
of men if a woman should
come our here to see me i shou
ld send hur home quicker then
she came, but i have not got
a woman to tag to my heels and
i am glad of it, but one like lizzie
i could cary hur in my pocket
now i have written enough
of that foolishness you know
that Farnsworth that came
out when i did he is rupterd pretty
bad he got it on that washington
march last spring but has not felt
much of it till now i think he
will get his discharge before long
and chellis that came from Harvard
when i did is in the inverlid core
and will go north before long
[continued in left, right, and top margins]
then i shall be the only one left but i am good for it
now i wont write much more so good by till agan write soon
send the shirts as soon as you can for
i can hardly get this one on