Yorktown Va Dec 19 /63

 

Dear Sister

                        I have just got through supper rather later than usual. This afternoon I got an order for some flour at the commissary & went in with a fellow who is a good cook, so to night we had griddle cakes. they were pretty good to. They ask us 4 cents per pound. We have been living on hard tack for two or three days. the bakery was burned wednesday night. To night we got some soft bread from Fort Munroe. Before you get this you will see in the papers / an account of the explosion of the magazine here in in the Fort or of two or three of them. There are a dozen or fifteen of them inside of the Fort The fire first caught in the hospital and communicated to the a building across the road filled with powder, shells and all kinds of ammunition. It beat all the fourth of July fire works I ever saw before any heavy explosion took place the shells were exploding continually they would throw like enough a box of cartridges up in the air two or three hundred feet and then would burst. They first heavy explosion took place / about 9 o'clock It was a splendid but a terrific sight. I was about 80 rods off and had a fine view of the whole. It threw up such a shower of shell and fire and so high it looked just as if it would come down on us. I know I found myself falling back a a few steps when it went up. It leveled all the buildings any where near it. Set fire to two other magazines and we had fire works all night. I was not on duty so after watching it as long as I wished went to bed The heaviest explosion took place about three oclock in the morning / some of the boys said it like to threw them out of their bunks but it failed to wake me. Shells continued to burst at intervals all the next day. In one of the buildings there was twenty thousand stand of arms. It broke the in every shape. Not a whole one left. You could find gun barrels stuck in the ground 20 or 30 rods away. I got me me a new cartridge box &c.

 

Some prisoners went through here among them a woman. she had on mens clothes and rode horseback man fashion.

 

The cheese Mother sent me is first rate and every thing else you sent. It is pleasant but quite cool tonight. Yesterday it rained. Tell Willie to kiss Gil's baby for me. My love to him wish I could send him some thing else. I am gaining about three pounds a week since I got my box. It is so cold I shall have to stop. I come on guard again tomorrow.

 

Our Regt. was inspected to day If I have left out any thing or words put them I cant read over to see

                                                                       

Your Brother

Charlie

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