Camp Marion
the
March 2 1862
Dear Father
I received your kind letter
afew days ago and was glad to hear
from you and I now seat my self
to answer it But I am not in
Much fix for writing for we
are ordered to cook three days
rations and we have sent of our
bagage and we now looking
for orders to leave evry moment
and I exspect we will have
to leave our houses and if we
do it will be bad on us you
no to leave them and go in
tents at such a time as this
I tell you times is exciting here
now through out the pinnin=
sulia they are exspecting and
attack here I have seen about
three thousand troops this
morning pass here going down
[page 2]
down below to Howard mills where
our strong breast works is and
they keep going down well all I
wish is if we are going to have
to fight I wish they would have
it and be done with it at once
and not run us of[f] in this bad
weather [??] we have not taken
A tramp since Chrismas but
I think that we will have
to take one soon from the
appearance of things now I
tell you we can hear the cannons
roar here on evry side but
that is nothing new here for
some times you can stand here
and hear them for A half
hour at atime we can here the
yankees cannons at new port
news and Fortress monroe
pretty nigh evry day but I
think from the cannons I saw
going down this morning that
[page 3]
we will give them fits if they
do come on us. Just now Benj
comes in from loading the Doctors
wagon and tells us that cobbs Legion
has got to leave in the morning
for Howards mills well if it is
just Atramp I dont care for
that is not more than two
miles from here I dont care
for Atramp if they
dont move us that is what
I am Afrade of well I tell
you I am mad I wish evry
yankee was out of the world
I am like colonel cobb he
said in his speach the night
we seranaded him that he
wanted to hate them so bad
that he would feel Just as
well with A Stold sheep
on his back as apiece of
yankee goods on his back
well I am just that way
[page 4]
but I dont want to do it for
I all ready hate them worse than
that if possible we exspect to
have Abattle to morrow but
I dont pay no attention to that
but General Magruder must
think so he has sent down
[???] barrels of whiskey for his
men to drink I tell you if he
makes all his men half drunk
they will whip evry yankee
in new port news well dinner
is done Benj and the boys
wants the table to eat on
So I must close Dear Father
write to me how to direct
letters to Sim Skinner so I
can write to him Dear Father
you must write to me often I write
to you oftener than you do to me
but I will not grumble nothing
more at presant only I remain
your loving Son
Jim