Beverly West Virginia
April 8 /65
Dear Neoma & Jane Compton
It is with the gratest of pleasher I
take my pen in hand to let you know
that I am well and harty & in the best
of spiritts we arived here on last
eavening We traveled by the railroad
to Webster from Green spring run &
then we marched 42 miles on foot from
Webster to here We marched it in 3 days
Yesterday we marched 18 miles with our
napsacks & our haver sacks with our
rashens in & canteens on & 40 rounds of
catrege & gun a bout 60 lbs It was a verry
hard march on us boys but we all got a
long better then we expected it was very
hard on me but I walked every step & ceryed
my load mygun was ceryed about a mile
We are in good quarters now up on a
high hill just acrost the river from
cheet mounten Where McClellan fought
the first battle We hard last eavning
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the best of nues & it was confurmed
that General Grant has captured
G. Lee & his hole army O but there was grate
chering & a bout 10 oclock last night the
telegraft nuse came here that Geff
Davis & his hole cabenet was taken
priseners by our army & if this is so
we may get home before July & meby before
two weeks The fiting is a bout all
over & you can rejoice that the war
is a bout went up but we had
marching orders last eavening to be
ready for for to march but it might
be some time before we may march
but we think it will be to march
twords home we may be home before
long our boys from marchand is all well
there is 6 of us in 1 mess S Hover Gust
winslow John pepper James shields
Adam shields We have been lying
on the grown every night with our
shelter tents over us & we stand itt
better then we thot we could & we was
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purty coald last night but it is
a nice day a little cule but We get good
quarters here there was a regiment
left this morning & we cleaned them out
this morning & we ar in there now
We have been scarce of rashens while we
was on the march but I think we will
have plentyer here We havent had any
word from home since we left the letters
hasent folowed us yet this is my 12th
letter I rote since I left home & this
is the 7th one I rote to you We ar looki
ng for some this eavening the male comes
here 42 mile on horse back the male
yesterday morning was captured that
left here going north our bounty
I supose that 5 hundred & 50 dollars
bounty is in the india bank [1] by this time
I if I doant soon get home I will
send home in order to draw some of it
I hope & pray that theas fiew lines
may find you in good health right
as soon as you get this letter & you
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may send it to by the way
of washington & now diference
which way we move we will gett it
I must close for this time
Get Jane Brown to Back this letter

I give you my adress

Mr John W Comprton
Co. B 74th Regt P. V inf
Washington .D.C
in care of Capt John .G. Wilson