Picket line on the Rappanack

oposate Fredricksburgh Va

May 10^th 1863

 

Dear Mussy I take this opprtunity this Sunday morning to inform you that I am well at presend and I do hope these lines will find you engoying good health dear Musy I am standing picket to day oposite the great citty of Fredricksburgh I can sea from where I now sit all over the Citty it appears to be a very large and hansome place dear Musy this is a diffeant day with me to what last Sunday ware I was in a dreadfull battel all that day stood in frunt of the fire of the enemy all of that day and for four days and nites without/being sheltered much from the rebel fire we at one time had possesion of Fredricksburgh and the hites above it but was finly repulsed and forced to retreat back of the battel field we fell back to our old encampment where our reigement now lays it is supposed that we lost ten thousand men kild and wounded it is said here that the rebel loss was eighteen thousand kild wounded and taken prisners during the battel I received 2 letters from you and I wrote 2 or three times to you on the battel field which letters I hope you have received dear Mussy the day we left camp to march to the battel field I wrote to you and enclosed ten dollars to/you and while on the battel field I wrote 2 letters to you and enclosed twenty dollars in each of them to you I hope that you have received them in all it was fifty dollars—and in this letter I will enclose to you ten dollars I hope it will all go safe to you I do not want to keep any mony about me when in battle dear Musy I think that we will have another battle at Fredricksburgh in a few days again how I may get along in the coming battle god only knows but hope I may come out safe again we had 174 men kild in our reigement which has thined it very much we lost 1600 hundred men out of our Corps/Cornel Mcknite was kild on last Sunday our Cournial was very severely wounded one Company in our reigement lost all their men but six Company I only had one man kild and four wounded the man kild his name is Craft from near Brookville I must now close this letter give my love to Mary Oliver and famly also to all the rest of the friends and now my dear Musy I send my affectinate love to you with 25 sweet kises write to me often direct to me as you have been doing I now bid you an affectinate fairewell for the present dear Musy this from your affectinate husband

WRodgers to Sarah Rodgers

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