Camped at Macanicsville Va
June the 26 / 62
Dear Sister
I recived your cind leter of the
18 on the twenty third at this plase and was glad
to hear of you all having good helth and am glad and
thankfull to that I can tell you the same I am able
[???] my rashins three times a day and some times
[??????????????????????????] to [hear of?] [???] [2]
[???????] my leter for I now how?] the[?]ffers with them
[dore?] [??] The compny is in good health now and [????]
some of them that was sick returning every day Jim
[???] came back yesterday he is some beter but looked prety
[????] yet but he says he can stand it [sow?] but [???]
tel you it takes a man to have prety good helth
to stand the nocks hear We have to stay her [??] the
[????]nick one day and nite and have to be oup [??]
[????????????????????????????????????????????????] [3]
three oclock and some nits sooner they are the
rebles advance in the nite and come on us unawares
but they will have to git oup prety urley if they catch
[us?] [??] bead We have a vary nise plase to stay in
now we have our quarters in a large farm house
plenty of good water just in the yard the house
stands in a nice white oak grove and is a vary
plesant plas to stay if I had of ound it I would of hated
to of left it
[page 2]
Thare has not been any fiting don of any account
here for some time but thare is all preparations making
for a big one and that will be the cind we will have
or els thare will be non it is thot by a grait many
that they are evacuating richman now but it is
hard to tell they are trying to do something We
have fired on them every day but sunday since we
came her and they never replyed once and had fore
guns that we could see plane rite oposite us and
the deserters say that they have some of them
masked that we cant see and yesterday evening
at six oclock they came out with teams and hitched
on to them and took them away we heried them
away with a few shells When we fired they started
out doble Quick and the men run in every
direction The generalles that have been here to see
us give us the prase of doing the best fireing that
has ever been don across hear we have shot a good
bit now and got the range and can poot them
just ware we want them evry time Thare was
two compnyes crost the bridge on munday under
our fire and drove in thare pickets they ware
fired on by the pickets as soon as they past out
of the woods thare is woods on boath sides of
the road for a few rods after you cross the bridge
thare was non of them hert except one sargent
[page 3]
in Co C of the nineth regament got a flesh
wond in his rite arm he walked back to this
side before he told any one that he was sonded
but he began to git prety weak from the loss of
blud but the surgent soon dressed it and he walked
of[f] and if he has now bad luck will soon be well
again We do not hear vary much nuse here
for what papers we do git are three or fore days old
we git our male regular every day and thare is
nuse boys coms out to but we are not sow far that
the neues reaches us our pickets and the rebles changed
papers the other day the reble came out on the end
of the bridge with his paper and waved it to
ours and our picket took one in his hand and
waved it and they boath started and met on the
bridge and after a short conversation they changed
papers and returned to thare posts It was a
Richman paper but had nuthing of importence it
said something about Jeff Davis want to leave
and the people obgecting to it and said that he
had got them out of it and it spok something
about the condision of thare army and iff it was
cept thare in that condision they would all dye
they cant get any medison at all all the deserters that
come in say the same and now salt for any thing
they use the salt of thare pickled pork is all they have
[page 4]
and one thing I do now for i sean it sold the
same cind of salt in fredrixburg for fifty cents a lb
And them Compies that was a cross the river the other
day picked oup some of thare haver sacks that they
had run of[f] and left laying along the picket line
and they had some buisket in them that the citisens
had baked for them and they had not a partical
of salt in them and fresh meat the same way
which is a nuff to make any man sick I was
sory to hear of calvins martins deat[h] after escaping
through sow many diferant hard batles it is
prety hard to have to dy in a hospitall I hope iff
it is my lot to dy in the army that it will be on
the batle field and not in a hosptiall But if
a man is only prepard for death he meend not care
whare it comes his time and plase is for him and
it must come Some of the boys are oup stares singing
some of our old peases it brings oup a good many thots
in my mind to hear them old toons sung Lary Dickson
[and I?] are seting on the back porch riting he sends you his
best respects he is a bulley [pup?] and the rest of the
boys are sitting around to see iff they can see a reb as
they call them John McCurley has the tooth ache to day
he says you owe him a leter he sais he got one from old
suse as he calls her the other day he answers all the leter
he gits if you rite to him you will git an ansuer he has
not rote any to sippy for a long time I dont now why
for they cept it oup for a while prety brisk Tom rites to
some of the gerls back thare but thare is now love in
them for he shoes nearly all he gits to me I was going
to rite the other day to you and I happend to see one back[ed]
to you and I thot I would wate a day or two dont you tell
any one that I reed toms leters you now it would
not [do?] [???] diner is ready and I will have to close
[upside down at top of page ]
My love to all I rote to will last monday this is
fore times I have rote to him and never got but one that
he sent to me first and you sent [one?]
[upside down at top of page 2]
My washing some times I do it my self and
some times git a niger woman to do it