M. Barracks Washington March 28^th/63

 

Dear Mother.

                        I received your letter dated the 17^th in due time, and I was very sorry to see that it contained such bad news, and truly very sad news for Ira and you where both schoolmates. Ben Larry I new very well by sight but that is all. It was the first I heard that Tom was in the army at all. S. Lefever wrote to me that Ira had gone to school and was sick, and that his father had gone to see him. Every thing is going on the same here. Gen. Sumner was here at the Colonels last Saturday a week, and last Saturday he, and the Major received a despatch of his death. The other day I was down at Navy Yard and was watching them there forgeing out targets, and peaces of iron for anchors, / which is a real curiosity to see how easly they handle those imense peaces of iron, and they forge them with a hamer that ways 16,300 lbs and one man by the aid of steam handles it like you would a tack hamer, he can raise it up eight ft. or one inch, and he can leave it drop or he can leave it down slow. They have got a machine for makeing caps and another for balls, but I have never been lucky enough to be there when they where working with them. That infernal machine that was laying here has left but I do not know where it has gone. There is a ship going to leave here in a few days. there was a fifer, drummer and one pvt. went upon it to day from here to make the guard compleat. In speaking of them drummer boys one was about fifteen and the other and the other about twelve. there is over twenty of those boys here from about ten years of age I should juge from / the looks of them, up to about seventeen. they are enlisted untill they are twenty one. They get their bording and clothing the same as we do, and twelve dol. a month, but they do not get that all at once as we do, the drum Major gives them so much each time they go on liberty or sends as much as they want home, and every sunday they are dressed up in their dress suit and marched to the episcopal church. They are principaly from washington here. There is one from Ohio that enlisted a few weeks ago says he has no parents and that he went out with a volenteer regt. in the 3 months and was captured, and  they have cept him ever since. Yesterday I was out in town and had a hot bath and a dinner, and I allso got some pork steak which Miley and I a few minutes ago have had a mess of, which tasted very well. As this / is the seckond time I have spoken about that M^r Miley I will tell you all I know about him. I believe I told you before that he was from our county but he is from chester, and was farming before he came here and from what I here him say, he was routed out with the draft, as he enlisted between six and seven months ago, but he is a right respectable, and what I have seen of him he seems very decent, he does not drink or has no roudy ways about him at all. I still continue well. I will now close by sending much Love to all.

                                                                                                           

Charley

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