near Petersburg va
July 17th / 64
Dear Mother I write you afew
lines in answer to yours of 23rd
June which I recd Tuesday last
I was glad to hear from you
but sorry to hear yow was not
well I hope this may find yow
well yow Complain that I
donot write yow I think I wrote
yow since I recd one from you
until the one I Just mentiond you
Said yow wanted me to tell you
all about where we are and
what we have been doing
that is a hard thing for me
to Do as time and space would
fail me ware I to under take it
Suffice it to say that we have
head ahard Campain so far and
have gon through conflicts enough
and I fear many mo to pass through
[page 2]
we have head four men killd since
since we came back to Petersburg in our Co. namely
henry Collins on 23rd June Monroe [1]
Danner 3rd July Wm Reynolds [2]
12th Ju, Clinton Lowrance 13th [3]
Wm Hager mortally wounded [4]
Cany Fish Slightly in face [5]
by some shell we are nearly
lying in the Entrenchments [6]
a month the weather is verry [7]
warm and dry the yanks are shelling
us this morning we dont get any
rest atall here the sun is verry
unplesant in these Entrenchments
John Cally is a Prisner
again I understand he was taken
at cold harbor about 16th May
this leaves me tolerable well
So nomore but remain your Son
write soon }
Wm L, Bleckley