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Lagrange Tennesee Feb the 22ond

Dear sister I received
your letter bearing date Feb the 12^th
I was glad to know that you was
all well Hugh & James & myself
are well & hope when these few
lines comes to hand it may
find you all well I received a
letter from Robert & Christian
Robert you are a prtty good scribe &
composes a letter very well. Catharine
there is no chance for me to get a
discharge for I am hearty & weighs
a hundred & eighty six about two
weeks ago I received a letter from
Jane dated Feb the 8^th she said
she was well & all the rest of the
folks that is the kind of news I
like to hear I want you tell pap
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I would like he would write
some if he pleases to me I have
not had a letter from him I
cannot tell the time when I got
a letter dated Nov the 25th &
that is the only one & that was a very
old one tell him to send us some
papers for we do not get any news
papers here he must write the
news all that is going on there
& who is the C<??>ers in the
conventions & what the result
will be there is some sickness
in the regt there is one cace of
the small pox it is Capt Watts
of our regt he was taken to the
hospital to day we cannot muster
more than three hundred & fifty
men able for duty the companies
will avrage about 33 men there is
not any news to write that is war

[page 3]
news Catharine Hugh wants
you to let him know if you
got your Cane made or not he
never knew whether you did or
not he has written a bout several
times the supposition is that
we will stay here for some
time likely till along in the
summer I would rather stay
here than be marching this is a
very pretty camp we have the
streets all covered with sand
the boys hauled & there is pines &
cedars set out and it loks very
well pap I write letters to
you evry week but I do not get
answers please write soon & I
would like you would send me
a dollar in your next I must
close for this time Wm Steel
To Joseph A Steel