August 22/1862

Camp Relief Scotts 900 W.D.C.

 

Dear Mother sister Brothers & Mike

                                                            It is with pleasure that i seat myself to answer your kind and wellcome letter that i got the 20^th and was glad to hear that you was wel, but was verry sorry to hear of the death of grandmother but when that i heard that she was sick i thought it doubtful whether she ever got around again she was so old but i trust that she is better of than wee are here in this world you wanted to know if there was any rebels around here there is some but thay dont say much there is plenty of them in maryland our men was out last week and caught 3 rebels and got 7 guns and brot in to the camp and then put the men in the capitol gail and a few nights before there was a part of company B out in another part of maryland and staid 3 days and thay / and thay got 1 rebel and 37 guns and wee shall go out again tonight or tomorrow again there is a nest of rebels out there and wee are on thair tracks and thay will have to play pretty smart or thay will get caught you said you thought that if i was there i could get some if thay thought that thay would not be brought back but thay neednot be afraid of that for it is a unitedsates volenteer regiment that is to be filled from every sate in the union so if there is any one there that will come write to me how many i could get and write as soon as you get this and can find out tell the boys not to list in an infantry if thay can help it for it is verry hard work to carry a napsack and a gun all day but as for John C Morris having a commission i dont think it is so he may he may have the promice of a commission providing he will get so many men but / he has not got any regular commission yet i am a getting so i feel as if i could doe some thing again i dont eat any thing much yet but bread and sausage that i have to pay 25 cents pr pound it cost me so much for little things to eat while that i have ben sick that i cant send home more than ten dollars this pay day i must close for it is water call and i must go and water my horse and fee him there is plenty of news to write but i have not time to write it to night

 

Morning Tell the boys to enlist before thay have to be drafted but if it was a possible thing for them to come in this regiment i should like to have them and it is if i could get ten men i would try and come after them so if you think that i could get them write as soon as possible i feel very well this morning the weather is getting quite cool here now to what it was / it is verry pleasant here now if wee stay here through the winter i think that i shall come home in January if i can for one month the troops is passing through washington in thousands but the new regiments is sent rite on to the army our regiment is to be filled up to twelve hundred and fifty there has ben some deaths here in the regiment one corporal that was in the tent with me died with the typhoid fever and wee had his boddy embalmed and sent home to his folks it cost us one dollar a piece and wee are a going to sent all home from this company that dies when wee are whare wee can it cost sixty dollars to send him home i cant write any more this time but still remain your true son & Brother & friend good by for this time from S W Bates

 

To his Mother sister Brothers & Mike

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