1862
Camp Chase [1] Sunday Oct 12th
Dear Father and Mother
Your letter of the 7th ist has been
recieved and read with a great
deal of pleasure We are both well
and hope those few lines may find
you all enjoying the same good
health. We are still lying here
on Arlington hights but we have
had orders to be ready to march
at twenty mints notice for three
or four days and so we do not
know how soon we may go
I do not know which way we
may go but we may come towards
Pennsylvania I see in yesterdays
paper that the Rebels are up in
Pa at Chambersburg I wish they
would send us up there after
the devills I tell you we would
[page 2]
make them skedaddle I think
I could fight much harder up
there. I am glad that that Rebel
Charles W Leiter has been taken
prisoner I was in good hopes
that the rascal was dead long
ago but it appears he is still alive
yet But it does me as much good
to know that he is taken as if they
had taken a whole Regiment of
others. he should be hung as high
as hamen and I would like to put
the rope around his neck. the way
I look at things there is some of his
relations that are not a farthing
better than he is. and some of them
shall hear there own yet before
they die. It is very cool here today
so much so that we can Stand the
fier very well yesterday it raind
nearly all day which made it very
uncomfertable
[page 3]
I think the warm weather is about
played out for this season so here
goes another hard winter
of hard soldiering. We had the
extreme pleasure of seeing some
of our old friends from Waterstreet
last week they came down here to
see us poor devils which is more
then we can expect from our friends
at Woodbury I will give you their
names Robert Ralston Elliott Ralston
Samuel B. Fluck, Harry Fluck
and Samuel Nicodemus. this was
the crowd they brought us a lot
of sweet meants of different kinds
which were very highly appreciated
by a set of hungry Soldiers who
had not seen any thing of the kind
for a long time what pleased me
the most was the Apple Buter
they brought along this took
decidedly the best
[page 4]
Pap I sent a wach along with
Mr Samuel B. Fluck to give
to you and I want you to carry
it and keep it going till I come
home I carried it about three months
and I was a fraid I would lose
it I carried that wach through the
whole Campaign under General
Pope and you can depend upon
it that it was in some tight places
and saw some hard times and it
is just like its ouner it never
refuses to go If you think that
Charlie can take care of it let
him have it if you do not want
to carry it. I must soon close or
my paper will runout John P
also send some small things to
some of you I sent a few thing
to George L Carmack