Camp at the front
Arty Briggade 6th Corps Jan 8th 1865
Dear Father
I know sit
down in my shelter tent to onswer your letter
dated dec 29th which I recieved this morning
I was glad to here from home and to know
that you all are well I am well but it is
kind of cald out here sleeping on the ground
this time of year we left City point the
second about two in the morning and
started for the front it was frosen quite
hard and it made it bad marching for men
and horses we arived at the 6th Corps H. Qes
about half post nine one part of the battery
was sent to a fort about three miles from here
and we went to onother one where we now
are it is about 16 miles from here to city
point we are away south of richmond the
way that I reconit but I hove not seen
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a map for some time there is a good meny
troops here and it is strongly forty fied our
picket line is out about three quarters of a
mile the rebs picket line is just the othere
side of the woods from us there is a strip of
woods between us so that we connot see there
tents thay are not more then a mile and a
half from here our tents and horses is in
a holow so that there shells cont hurt us as
long as a fellow keeps out of sight there is
not much donger there was prety heay picket
fireing here lost night we did not hove to
turn out we first picked our tents in
a kind of a grove yard I should judg we
dug up pieces of flesh and bones we counted
five groves of some poor felows we moved our
tents a little way off this is the plose where
the dispute was about the weldon road
we are buisy now ficksing up for winter quarters
agoin I will write a few lines to mother on the
other page yours John P. Campbell
[page 3]
Camp in the field Jan 5th 1865
Dear Mother and Sis
I fiel as tho it was my
deuty to write a few lines to you to onswer
that little letter writen by sis that I found
in Fathers letter you wrote that you had
made me a pair of sleeves for my shirts you
know that when you made them you made them
too duble on the back one day when I hadent
much to do I took a pair of sisors and cut one
thickeness out and patched the sleevs in good
shop I dont supose that if I was at home
that I would want to ware them for five
shirts but thay are just as good as any thing
out here and another thing thay have shrunk
so that I con not butten the coller butten
I guess that perhaps you had not better send
the sleevs after I get home I will ware them out
the kneedle case would please me verry much
and a little block thred a little red if you can
send it a as well as not you know that I
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hove to were the red stripes as long as I om
Corprel and thay kneed a little sewing on
now and then that is all that I kneed
we dont get enought to eate some of the
time but it is so far that it is not
worth while to send a box ve expect to
get paid off before long and then I con
send home a hundred dallers if nothing
hapens teell tell sis that I am in
hopes that I shall bee where I con wish
her a hapy new year I dont supose that I
ought to call her sis now but it comes
so noturall that I cont help verry well
Give my love to all and write soon
dont work to hard mother remember
Yours in haste
John P. Compbell
Direct to John P Compbell
Battery H 1st R. J. Set Arty
Via. Washington
D. C.
Good By