Head Quarters
Camp Marion the
February 3 1862
Dear Father
I now seat my self to write to
you as it is snowing so I cant do nothing
else so I will imploy my self in
writing to you I received A letter from
you A few days since and you have no
idie how glad I was to hear from
you and all of the famly in your letters
you all say if I new the pleasure it gives
you that I would write often well it
does you no more good to hear from me
than it does me to hear from you and I write home once A weak say I write
to you this weak I write to Mother the
next weak and to sis the next and take
it round that way there is nothing that
does me more good than to write home
when I get the chance but to get one from
home that pleases me better than any
thing yet I am well and in good health
and hope this may find you all the same
Benj is well and doing fine we are in
our house before a good fier it is snow=
in now faster now than I ever saw it
in my life it Just comes down by lumps
the boys is out playing in the snow
so I am in my house writing to you
it is very slopy here it is three times
as bad here in wet wether than it
is in georgia you have no idie how
slopy it is here in wet weather it
is as mudy as it can be it would be
[page 2]
bad on us to have to take A tramp
but we have not taken a tramp now in
some time and I hope the next one we
take we will come on the yankees for
I am tired of scouting so much and
found no yankees till I am mad evry
time I have to go on A tramp I wish
the yankees would come out of newport
news and give us A fair fight you aught
to be here to sea how well fortifide
we are all down below us we have got
breast works thrown up every two hundre[d?]
yards from where we are to Bethell we
have been down as far as new market
Brige that is A bout 15 miles below Bethell
in the yankees country but they would
not come out after us then you better
be leave if they come on our country
they will ketch A fight one evening
I was out in the woods not far of from
our cabbins when I heard the allarm
beat on the drum I went doubble
quick to the camps to sea what was
out for I new it was something out
and when I got in sight I saw all
the companys falling in and when I
got up I ask what was the matter
and they said the yankees was at
Bethell Church well I got my musket
and got in ranks and in A bout ten
minits the whole Legion was of[f]
after them but before we could get
there they were gone they sot Bethell
[page 3]
on fire before they left but Winston’s
Regiment got there and put it out before
it was damaged much that time was
the only time that I started of when
I exspected to get in to A fight but
we misst it I was mad when I
heard they were gone far the way we could
have licked them at bethell is the
way but they no better than to fight
us at bethell for they got whiped two
bad there last summer I have been
by Bethell several times and you aught to
sea it the trees is shot up and the houses
has got cannons balls shot through them
them the place look dessolate you can
sea cannon balls where they hit
trees way up in the tops where the
yankees shot at us... well now I will
tell you something A bout out election
we had the other day well you no that
Randolf Whitehead our first Lieuten
has resigned and gone home well
Capt Morris come we had to elect
A first Lieutenant well you never
saw so much excitement get up About
such A little election in your life
they run Mack Whitehead and T. B. Cox
and Sergent Brown well Brown got 29
votes Whitehead 8 and Cox 28 well you
one man had to get the magority of
the company before he could get the
office so we had to have it over and
this way it mad the Brown men mad
[page 4]
to have it over was the way well the
last time we had it Cox got 34 Brown
32 and Whitehead one so you see that
Cox got it so Cox is our first lieutenant
well it seams like the Brown men got
mad About it and I thought once
that we would have some fights about
it if we dont yet well I am one of
the Cox men he got my vote but
Brown run him close shure Brown
is A Clever man and is very popular
in the company but Cox beat him
2 votes and Whitehead the Last time
got one so you see that Cox beat only
one vote is not that A close race
Well I will now talk About some thing
elce you spoke spome thing you or sis
About the box that me and ben got
well I wrote to you and Son at the
same time A bout it sis said she hoped
that I did not think that it was sent
to Ben and not me well I did not
and I wrote to you all about it and
if it had been sent to one of us
it would have done one as much good
as the other for when one of us is
got any thing it does one as much
good as the other I sea in some of
your letters you complain of me and ben
About not writing to you well I write
one or twice A weak and I try to get
Ben to write but he dont write half
as often as he can I must close your loving Son Jim