Gloucester Point May 30th 1863
Dear Mary I received yours of
25 to day and was glad from
you that you was well and enjoy
your self as well as you do my
health is first rate the warm
weather seams to agree with me
first rate I am loosing in weight
I got weighed aboute 15 minits ago
I have lost some 1[5 lb?] I think one
feels better then to flesh up to
much I think I shal be in good
running order by the time we
start for home I have a good
apetite but not good enough for
porke and beans or rice I wish
you had my share of rice or had
you to cook it I think I could
eat it we git one ration aday
that is worthe 83 cts if I could git
that in money I could live better
then I do now
[Page 2]
capten gits 4 rations in money
they git evry thing at government
prices that is cheeper then they could
git them at home that is most
evry thing shugar they pay 11 cts we
would half to pay 20 none but com
misiond officers can buy of government
it pays to go to war when one
can git a commision bigest pay
least to do I think if they would
pay them aboute one half as much
the war would git along faster
they have the best of times it is
better for them to lay still then
to fight one at home knows verry
little aboute it what it costs it
takes a number of steamers and vesels
to keepe this plase this is a small
speck of the army heare it will
be an awfull sume of money
to pay when this war is over
it is hard to tell when it will
end I hope it will before long
[Page 3]
good evning Mary we are going
on pickit in the morning I will
half to finish this to night or
wate tuesday that would not do
I have not missed gitting one satur
day for along time mary it is hard
work to write when one has not
got any thing to write that
is the trouble with me you will
half to wate till I git home then
I will try and tell you what
I have not wrote It seems to me
just as if I was forgiting how
to write aletter if you are ashamed
of it you must not let any one
see it we have verry little to do
now when it is warm we do not
drill any when it is cool we have
a little drill we are gitting to be
the lasest set of fellows you ever
saw it is hard work to do nothing
you would think so if you
could see ous lounge around
[Page 4]
the cavelry left heare yesterday
I do not know where they wer
going they did not know they
went in the direction of richmond
I gess they are going to join stone
man some whare we have got
so we do not put much dependence
on newspaper news we have been
fool to much I hope grant
will git vixburgh he is having
a hard fight I am strong in
the faith he will whip them
we do not calculate to make
ad[?] till we know I guess I have
wrote about noncence enough
for one time I ware my woolen
shurts we have cool night some
times we have to sleepe on the ground
tell Charles and Lorinda I have not
forgoten them give my love to all
I would write more letters if I could
find anything to write it will not
be long that I shal have to write
I am not sorry not one bit Mary