Camp Beaver Oct 12^th 1862

 

Dear Musse I received your letter on last evening it was dated october 5^th I was very happy to hear from you all again and perticuler so to hear that you and Mary and all the rest was well I was very glad to hear that Oliver and Mary had mooved up with you you will not be so lonesome now dear Musse I had not intended to write to you untill I had got my mony so that I could have sent it home to you but have not got any pay yet Capt Marlin went to Harrisburg last week a purtose to get our pay for us he returned to camp a few days ago he tels us that the pay master will be hear in a few days to pay us he has not come yet but we look for him here every day to pay us I will send it to you as scoon as I receive it. Dear Sariah I am in usial good health this morning and I thank god for it—it is now very sickly in our reigement They are twenty to men now very sick in our hospitle with the tifoid and bilious fevers Thy ware two of them died in this hospitle last week one of them lived in Center County the other lived in Armstrong County and belonged to Capt Stewarts Company from Brookville thy ware both sent home to be berried. Thy are plenty work here in the hospitel here I have now a good deal of sitting up now with the sick while I am a nurse in the hospitel I will not be in any battels and do not stand in much dainger of being kiled unless we are supprised some time and taken prisners but I run a great risk here in working with the sick I may ketch their dease and be down sick myself but my health has been good as yet my pay in the hospitle will be twenty dollars per month and found in Clothing and boarding Jacob Haugh and Lewis Divle are well thy have been appointed Sergents their pay now are seventeen dollars per month—The rebels has got into this state again thy now occupy Chaimbersburg Thy are now 3 thousand Calvey their and stonewall Jackson and fifty thousand men they will be a hevy battel their in a few days our goverment is sending on/now very fast Thy was about ten thousand solders past our camp this morning from Baltimore on their way to Harrisburgh and likly thy will be sent from their to Chaimbersburg our Regement received an order yesterday for two days rashins for each man to be cooked we will likly leave this place to day for Harrisburg or Chaimbersburgh. if we be moved from this place I will inform you of it the first time I get to write I can scarsly get time now to write letters to you tell my daughter Mary not to think hard of me not writing to hir before this time The fact is I have such a poor way to write I have to do it gust by shets when I get time but will write to hir before long I cannot tell you any thing about the time that I may be at home I am bound up to stay in the Army for three years unless peace is scooner Made I may get going home on a furlow in a year or so but cannot now tell Dear Mussy keep in good hart and do not fret on my account I will write often to you and let you know how I get along I am sorry that I am not now at home to help you to eat the peaches but I have had plenty of good peaches here thy come into camp to sell if I had your peaches here and them rite ripe I could sell them all in a day for one cent a piece please rite to me when you receive this letter and let me know how you all are tell Mary & Oliver Thompson to write to me

I close this letter by sending my love Dear Sarah to you all

                        good by           in my last I forgot to tell you that we had potatoes

                                                to eat here two

                                                            W. Rodgers to Sarah Rodgers

SOURCES