[patriotic illustration printed in upper left of first page]

Camp
near the
Rappahanock
May the 13 1863
Dear Sister I will inform you
this morning that we air in
moderate helth at this time and
hope these few lines may have A
Safe jorney to your hands and find
you and children well we hant
got much news to write this time
for we roat the the old man Tandy
A few days A go and I hant hern
any thing much Sence only the
death of Stonewall Jackson
We air vary Sory that we
have lost our ginral for it tis
A grate los to the confedersey
We herd the yankes was A crosing
[page 2]
the river A gain
and we had marching
orders A few days back
but I am in hops that is was
A fals report for we have don
fiting A nuf latley to last A while
and tird A nuf I am in hopes
that we will have the chance to
rest A while I tell you the regiment
looks mity Small now when
we go our on drill We hant
Seen Neill Sence A bout the
last of the fight But I think his
division is up the river A bove us
from the best that I can find
out A bout him We have
Some vary warm wether her at
last and the trees has got to
putting out vary fast but I
think it is time I expect the
leaves is grown About home
[page 3]
This is yankey paper I am writing
on we capterd A good eal of yankey
paper we will have to write on it
all to gether We cold A got
eny thing we wanted on the
battle feel but if cold A card
it but we wer vary porly
and had A nuf to do to keep
up and we air weekley yet
we wodent to A wrote So Soon
Again but we like to be A
gitting letters from home
vary often the girls has
qit ritting to me and I
dont write no whers els
onley at home I have live
in hops that peas wood be
made before vary long
tell latly I dont See eny
chance for peas tell we air
all Kild I dont her eny
[page 4]
Talk of peas being maide
but exspecting hard fighting
more than ever have for
old Hooker Ses that he intends
to brake up our army or his
one and he is getting all
the reinforcement he can he
has got thirty thousand new
trups Sence the fight but
let him come we broke of
one of his horns when he
came before and if he comes
again we will brake the
other for our army here hant
never bin whipt yet So
we must bring our few
lines to A close and write
the more nex time So write Soon
vary Respectley yours Hardy Matthews & Nathan
Elisabeth McLeod