July 29^th 1863

 

Dear Brother i take my pen in hand this morning to rite you a few lines to let you no wher i am and how i am i am not well this morning tho i am able to go we are now near Culpper Landrum is well Brother Maron is at the hors pital the last i herd from him he was not doing very well and Maron Guinn is in the hors pital i hav not herd from him sence he left us i hav bin in sum very hard fiting the second of this month we fought a big battle in pennsylvania and James Brown was wounded in the leg R J Spelts in the hip and H K War is our Capt he was wounded in the hip i am second lieutenant of the Company and has bin in command of it sence the fite tel the other day the other lieutenant had bin sick tha are with the Company now Brown and Spelts is in the hand of the Yanks we had to fall back and got them and a good meny more J W Stewart and M Hanback and J Plaheck was killed and W^m Gilland has never bin seen nor herd of sence the fite dear brother and sister i recievd the leter you sent to maron i was glad to git it and to her from you all and would be very glad to see you all and hope i will tho i can not tel i hope God will be with us all and bless us i want you to rite to me as often as you can 

 

we hav seen very hard times i can not rite it all to you now we have only forteen men now in the Company able for duty we went thru maryland in to pennsylvania part of the time in pennsylvania we had nothing to eat i went thru all the fits i was hit one time but did not brake the skin i got a leter from home the other day tha was all well then and dady was well Rosna rote she had had her wheet got out tha made fifty-fore bushels and crops was very good So not being very well i will close my short leter for this time hoping to write a gain                                        

Lieutenant J A Riddle

To Siles Riddle

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