Camp Of The Sec R.I. Reg^t

Near Fredericsburg, Va.

April 5^th 1863

                                   

Dear Sister.

                                                Your letter of the 22^nd came to hand safe and sound last Monday night, and the other one "April fool" came along Thursday night so you see I have had lots of knews from you this last week. I wish I could have two from you every week but I suppose thats entirely out of the question

 

            Any wintry around your house this morning? I recon its right smart winter weather here right smart indeed. The wind blew a gale all day long yesterday from the N.West. cloudy all the afternoon and about seven in the evening it began to snow big guns, keeping it up through the night / it is two or three inches deep this morning but its thawing fast.

 

I was on guard yesterday, in the cold. I was on from eleven oclock till one, and again from five till seven, when it began to storm which it did about the time I got relieved. the (Col I was going to say, but he is not hear) Captain in command of the reg^t had half the guards taken off, as it was too tough to keep so many men shivering in the storm when they might be in bed. I happened to be lucky enough to be one that had all night in bed as I got off with half a days guard duty. This corps was reviewed last Thursday by Hooker. the troops made a fine appearance as they marched by the old warrior sitting on his old white horse. When Co I. was passing directly in front of him, one of the fellows that tent with me contrived some way to stub his toe against a root of something and down he fell all in a heap. Old Hooker smiled when he saw it 

 

            The Hon. W. M. Sprague is no longer Gov of R.I. I suppose you will think that no news at all. I only said so because I cant help thinking that it is so, to see what a difference there is in the regiment from what it was two months ago. Capt. Read is now Lieut Col. though he has not left Gen. Devens staff yet. Our first Lieut H. C. Jenckes is Major he was commissary Sergeant when we left Providence and at the first battle of Bull Run was taken prisoner and carried to Richmond. he soon made his escape, and reached the reg^t again after having nearly starved to death, drowned, and eat up by woodticks on his way back he was then soon after made a lieut and came into this company. for most a year past he has been in R.I. recruiting for the reg^t. he has crawled up pretty fast. Read is as tickled as a dog with two tails. he is polite as you please to everybody, privates as well as officers. if Jo Wood gets a commission I suppose it will be a second lieut. there is not much said about that nowadays 

 

Lyman Wilcox of the first R.I. Cavalry was here Wednesday. he told Parkhurst his G. mother was dead. He says Elton Doty has got back from the Hospital and was in that fight with Stuart and Lee. he had his horse shot under him. Sam did not go as his horse was not in condition for service. Elton will soon be made sergeant as he is now first Corporal. Sam he thinks is a strange fellow. (He is not the only one that thinks so) he told a number of speeches that Sam was in the habit of getting off occasionally. The Cavalry Band came over and serenaded us the other night. They have got new pieces throughout and their music was nice. Tell Ma my stockings dont hurt my feet at all but my feet hurt them some along towards the legs. My tent fellows are T. W. D. Lewis of Newport lives close by fort Dumpling the other is H. C. Tayer of Albion. we dont get to fighting very often. I have been having a touch of the squats last week got over it now. It does make a funny looking sight when a man has to take an account of stock when the bullets are flying. Hawkins got routed up pretty sudden at Bull Run first battle

 

[overwritten upside down]

 

a cannon ball struck in the fence close where he was squat that made him hop I tell you I have seen a good many such cases but we could not see any place where the laugh came in until we were out of the scrape all safe. then we could find something to laugh at I cant think of anything more to write now

In my last I spoke about some writing paper and a piece of emory cloth have you seen any yet. L. C. Cook.

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