Thorton-Speir1
12 the 62
In Camps ner Richmond Va July
Dear Father Mother brother & Sisters I am in good
helth & I hope thes lines may find you & all
well Pa the boys is not well Herod and Ben
is porly though Ben is on duty to day Herod is
noth nor hasen bin in two or three days he has the
dirher agratdel I have no news to rite you now
every thing is quiet along the lines now it the
opinion of our men that they will not advance
Son if ever on this lines Pa I have aplent to eate
though the boys grumbles mitely Some of them
Ses they dont get any thing hardley Pa I wount
Some nurishments the wost in the world we
cant by any thing here for les than three price
mother I have not eat any corn bred Sence I got to Va
mother I have lernt nothing particlar about my
brother yet I have not bin to Richmon yet nor
dont now when I will our officers is So tite that
aprivet cant go any wher now I think if our Col
is the rite grit I will go next week I have Seen his
Company we are in the Same brigade that the 10
Ga is & Station in about ahalf mile of
them they dont Seme to much about him only he
is ded they all Say that it was the retret
that Killed him I Saw Georgia ware to day &
I ask him [?????????] about him and [1]
[page 2]
whether he though[t] his grave cold be found or
not and he Ses it is a dificult to find them
ther is So meney diing const he Ses that they mark
the graves but in take them of[f] to burry they put
the roung nam to the grav verry oftin
though his name & his deth is numberd at the
hospital with he company Regt and State
mother I ritten three times alitle and expect to
rite as oftin as I can I think that we will Stay
here wher we are Som time we are in camps a
bout 4 or 5 miles east of Richmon mother I
here that Marean Jackson is ded he got wounded
on thursday night after I got to this camps here I have bin
some what foold about fiting I thought that we
would not be put in danger so soon I have had
to fase the Canon twice though I never fird a
gun mother we have prere meting here oncend
while though I fere it dont do much good I
must close for the present I remain your Son
most effectly Hiram H. Thornton
July 13 th 62
my Dear Sisters I wount you to rite me soon & tell me
all the newes in old Fayette and tell me wher
David groes any or not & if he has got to crauling or not
I Studdy about home all the time I wount Some apples
& pies so bad that I cant hardly eat I wount you
girls to dry all the frut you can I hope this cruel
[?????????????????] that [???????] [2]
[page 3]
Camps Near Richmond Va
this July the 13th 1862
Dear Love I this day seet me self to write
a few lines to let you no how I am getting
a longe I must Informe you that I am
not well to day I feel dull and puny some
how tho I am not varry sick I have
Kept up a bout the most of the day I dont
thinke the watter a grees with me in this
cuntry and a nother thinge our Diat is so
nigh one thing all the time so that I dont
thinke it soots me: we git a tolerable
plenty of Bacon to Eate but Bread stuph
is tolerable scirce some times we git a little
flower and some times we draw loaf Bread
and some times old crackers so you see we
have meat & Bread for one time and the
next time we have Bread and meat so it is
that every time we have drawed a few peas
twiste: our fair is bad heare tho if it
gits no worse we will not perish &c
you must tell our Father nd famley that
I will write to them before long the
reson I have not wrote no more is becaus
Elizabeth I cant get postage stamps to
mail my letters with here and thay wonte take
paper money for postage I will have
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