Manassas va August 11th 1861
Dear Father I now seat my
Self to informe you that I am
well at this time and hoping
if theas lines come to hand they may
find you all enjoying the same blessing
I received your letter last knight
and was very glad to hear from you
and to no that you was all wll
we have had a tollorble good time for
a fiew days we have not had to moove
for a bout two weekes
this day three weeke wee had a
bad time that day I hope that
we may witness another sutch
A day the booming of the cannon
the ratling of the muskets you
have no idea how it was I
have turned threw that old Book
of yours and looked at the pictures
and read a little about wor
but I did not no any thing abot it
[page 2]
we was stand ing in line Just
redy to march in to the field when
a slug come threw the tree tops and [1]
struck the ground a bout 25 yards
from us and if I had not squatted
it would have Cut my head off
the captain what do you mean dodging
Col Fisher was up at the end of [2]
the Regiment and he came down their
and said boys you done just rite
and after that wee dodged lots of them
as for the msket balls they was
So thick they kept my face warme
I could feel them passing mee on
[??] I did not get to fire on the
Yankeys atall we was marched
in four rankes double file and
i was a bout the midle of the line
their beeing five company four us
we could not do any thing we was
orderd to retreat and when I
got our a fiew steps Linzy Dancy got me [3]
to tak him out [4]