Camp on James river
va July 3 1862
Dear wife i take this
opertunety of writing a
few lines to you I hope
thay will finde you all
well as thay leave us all
at present you will
think that i hav for
goten you but i hav
not thoe i should
hav wrote sooner but
sercamstances would not
alow me to do so
we hav had some harde
fighting since i last
wrote to you when i
last wrote i thought
that we should hav bin
in richmond to spend
[page 2]
our forthe of july
i hav bin sadley
misstaken the rebles
hav fought harde to
defende thare capetal
thay hav given our
boys more then thay
reley wanted to do
thay hav fought despret
our boys hav bee haved
well thay hav don all
that man could do under
the same sercumstances
thare is somthing verey
mistres [1] in this fighting
our boys hav allways
driven theme back in
everey fight we ware
surprised to finde our
selfs wakned one night
about two o clocke at
savage stashen to retreate
and fall back towardes
[page 3]
the james river we
did so it was one
sunday morning whay we
fell back i can not
tell our men say that
thay could hav held out
thare aganst all the
rebles combined we now
lay alon the james river
caled harisons landan under
cover of the gunboates
thay hav bin shelling
the rebles to day the
rebles keep following us
up thay are three mile
frome i expect our men
will pich into them verey
soone i think that mc
clelland is drawing them
on he wantes to capture
them all the men donte
minde this retrete much
thay all hav grate [confidence?]
[page 4]
in Mc clelan we will
soone se what it meens
thare has bin severel
thousand fresh troopes
came in hear this day ore
two our men are tired
out thay hav had verey
litle to eate this last
weeke i mean all the
troopes and verey litle
sleepe i was tow nights
and did not git get aney
fortey eight oures in the
sadle we are onley finding
out what soldering is
i expect you hav red
before this of thise harde
fought batles thay ware
harde we loste a grate
meny men the werst
thing is our wounded
hav all falen in the
handes of the rebles by
this retrete