Warrenton Va.            

Sept. 6^th 1863.

                                   

Dear Sister,

                                                Well we are at last nine months men! and we always said in this regiment that nine months troops were not worth the trouble of sending out, and if that is a fact we had ought to be sent home directly dont you think so? A good many of the men are looking forward to the time the next congress meets to see how Senator Wilson's Bill is acted upon in reference to discharging the the first seventy five thousand men called for by the President in the commencement of the Rebellion (three years men you understand) His idea is that if they are discharged about the time the army goes into winter quarters it will be the saving of the pay, rations, and clothing, when they could be of no use / to the government in any way. He thinks that by the time military operations would commence in the spring nearly all these men would be back in the army again, to serve three years. I think it is a pretty good idea dont you. Good for the government and for the soldiers both. There is not more than twenty five or thirty thousand of them left now, so their loss at that time would not be felt as it would just at the commencement of the summers campaign. Do your best old Wilson!

 

I have been out on a three days "tour" of picket I might have staid in camp had I wished by order of Gen Terry, but I concluded to go on picket and have my off duty when the company goes on camp guard. There is no "patrol" now from this brigade and as a natural consequence guerilla operations is on the increase, or rather they venture nearer camp than they did before. quite a number of the boys in this regiment and two or three in this company have been taken by them. They are nothing more than highway robbers as they do / not belong to any military organization unless it is as deserters. If they can pounce down upon a few unarmed men they will do so and relieve them of what money they may chance to have about their rags, and watch jack knife and so on, and if their clothes are worth taking theyll take them too. The Officer of the picket line was captured by them day before yesterday (Capt. Ives of the 10. Mass) while out visiting some ladies in front of the pickets. Charley Weeks of this company was at the same place and was taken too Ives they took away and is still off. Weeks has not come back yet but he has been seen by some of our men at the house probably be back tomorrow morning This Capt is the only one that I have heard of that has been kept by them as a prisoner. Ives will probably get a dishonorable dismissal from the army, and good enough for him too.

 

I had a letter from the Rev. G. R. Bent last Thursday night. he is in Washington connected in some way with the U. States Christian commission. I have been rather expecting him here for / the past week or two but he says he will not have time to come. It seems my letters are a little too accommodating are they not I thought when I put the check in, that it was a little careless and it seems it was so. The reason of my having more money than you can account for is this. Our clothing accounts were squared up to the 1^st of July showing a balance in my favor of twenty three dollars lacking a few cents. I omitted to write in my letter at the time the why's and wherefore's, the same as I always forget to write what I want to most. I am sorry you have such a bad cold and headache. Dont you get tired some times of writing letters every Sunday year in and year out? I shouldnt wonder if you was glad when the last one was finished wasnt you after doing your washing and being on the jump all the day before. How would you like to have the spare time we do, get up in the morning and play till night, not a thing to do. it makes me think of little boy four or five years old, to see the men lie around day after day. But this will not last long the hard work will come sooner or later, and when it does come it is hard. I cant think of much more this time only that your letter

 

[written through upside down]

 

was received Thursday night with some envelopes "Much obliged" is that kind of money in very good demand your way. taint here. Yours muchly L.C.C.

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