Raleigh monday April 24th 1865
Dear wife
I will try and write you a fiew lines
to let you know that I am well and I Hope all the
folks in Blindtown yourself included are the
same we got a large mail yesterday But nothing
for Harry now mimy you Have complained a
Great deal about my not writing oftener but I
Guess I write as often as you do for I Haint got
But two letters from you in 3 weeks But I suppose
you write a Great manny letters that I never get
at all for I know that I write lots of them that
you never get for they get lost somewhere on the
Road But the ownly way is to keep writing
and some of them will come through I sent
you a good long one yesterday and when you
Get that you cant complain and a day or two
Before that I sent you [???????] one and [2]
this morning after I got done Breakfast I Had
a nice peace of army Bread left so I put it in
an Envelope and sent it to you for the Children
it is Clean and good and all the kind we Have
drawed for 4 months we used to get Soft Bread
once or twice a week up in Virginia But since
we left there of the 3rd of January we Haint
drawed anny fresh Bread nothing But Hard Tack
Soak it in coffee for the children Tell them
that is the kind of Chrismas Cakes we Had
and we have had them Ever since and sometimes
we cant get enough of them at that
[page 2]
there is a Big time in the city of Raleigh to day
for Gen Grant is in Town He arived this morning
in speshal Train from New Burn He is Reviewing
the 17th army corps today it Seems that General
Joseph Johnson Hasent surrenderd His forces
yet they cant agree uppon the Terms and grant
Has come Her Himself to try and make arrangements
about the Surrender and finall winding up of
the whole thing Sherman sayes if he dont come
To terms tomorrow He will move His whole army
against Him next day and if we Have got to
Whip Him out of it we will doe it write for we
wont Leave a Greece spot of Him But I think
there will Be some kind of rrangements mad
with Him Tomorrow for He must come in there
is no use fifing we Recieved New York papers
Last night of April 17th it Had the full particulars
of the murder of Abram Lincoln in it
Cursed Be the man that done the deed the whole
army swears vengence against Him the Traitor
you must feed the pig plenty for I want to see Him
looking well when I come Home

Raleigh NC Apr 25 1865
Dear wife I dident get to finih this letter
yesterday so I will Try and wind it up to day
we got marching orders this morning we are to leave
Here Tomorrow mornin at Ten oclock I dont know
where we are going But its Rumerd in camp that
we are going out to attact Gen Johnson
[page 3]
I dont know How true it is but there is a misterious
movement on foot of some kind Some say we ar going
to attact Johnson Some Says that Johnson Has
Surrenderd and we are going to march for Virginia
and some says one thing and some another
for my part I cant tell anny thing about it But
there is something in the wind that is verry shure
and a fiew days will Tell us all if Johnson is going
to be Stubborn and we Have to fight Him we will fight
Him for certain for we wont show Him much mercy
we have fixed up our quarters and Policed the ground
around our camp and got fixed up pretty comfortable
and always when we do that and about the time
we get nicely fixed up we are Shure to get orders
to pull up stakes and march So its nothing new for
us to march about the time we get our camp fixed
up [retty nice But if they will ownly march us
towards Home we wont find no falt and in
fact we wont find no falt let them march us
where they will well mimy we Have got the meanest
Captain that god Ever put guts in and the other
night Just as our companey was formed in
line to go on dress Parade the Agatent came up
and took our captains sword and put Him under
arest I tell you the Boys felt like cheering
But darsent there is several charges against
Him one is for playing cards with inlisted
men for money one for using the campanys
Rations for Himself one for swearing at the
men one for using inlisted men for cooks
[2]