may the 4th 1863
Camp belou Kinston
Deer father and mother
I Seat my Self to drop you a fu
More lines to inform you that I am
Well at the present truly hopeing
these fu lines to find you all
Well and harty I can inform you
that I hav taken sevearl hard
marchis for the last mont past
and in the time I have seen a
heep of thing that was interest
me and I saw some thing that
I had rather not of seen sutch
as hard times nothing to eat
hardly a tall and water to
waid up to a mans But
and him as hot as he Can
be at that i have thought
that i had seen hard times
but i never have seen eney
wors times be fore this time
[page 2]
I think that thare will
be a small starveation in
this Con fedricy it looke so
at least from what We git
to eat at this time We only
git a nuff in one day to
feed a man one meal you
may guess from that we dont
git mutch and it looks so bad
that dog hardly would eat
it i Cain in form you that
thare is two men to be Shot
the 11 of this month in the
presents of this brigade
for Desirtion That looks
like a hard Case to me
but maby it is fair if it is
hard i want you to writ to
me as soon as you can and let
me no how yu are
[page 3]
for it has been so long
since i heard from you all
that it seames to me like
you are all dead or somthing
is the matter some way i want
to heare from you all mighty
bad thare is some talk of
us mooveing to fedricksburg
in a fu days but i dont
no wheather we will or not
if we doo i will try and
let you no it as soon as i
Cane writ soon and give
me all the newes yu Can
i want to no how you Come
on farming of it and how
yor small grain looks so
i will Close fer the present
ISaack Copland to
Hardin Copland