Keyes Switch.                        

Shenandoah Valley, Va.

March 11. /65.

           

Dear Sister.

                                    Your welcome letter of the 5^th inst. came to hand last night and was received with the greatest pleasure. In the first place. Secondly, you inquire after a certain box which you propose to send on to me, and wish to know where to send it, to what place, or rather how to direct it so that it will reach me. Secondly in the first place, we will take it for granted that my letter to Lucetta written last Sunday has reached its place of restignation informing you of my removal from my present place of residence. And which piece of intelligence will doubtless prevent further operations towards having it in / readiness to start Monday morning

 

Now! Mrs. Hayward, it causes me inexpressible pain to be under the painful necessity of informing you that all your good work and as equally good motives in preparing a box to send to me has been in vain, for the very simple reason that I have no earthly need of one or the contents either.

 

I want you all to just understand that your humble servant has retired to private life. Yes Maam! and is therefore under the orders of no corporal, sergeant, Lieut or captain, and furthermore is not dependent upon our good relative Uncle Sam for his daily grub. I am at present stopping with a gentleman of the name of Hobart, a short distance from the reg^t on the railroad leading to Winchester. I have been there since Monday morning and am guarding his property, protecting it from our soldiers. in return for my services I get my board and lodging, eating and I was almost going to say sleeping with the family 

 

            The family consists of the old man Robert and wife, son and daughter, the former about thirty five, the latter twenty two. The old man is a Mass man and was at one time sheriff in Worcester, maybe Pa has seen him. He has been all through the towns around our way and is acquainted with a good many Milford men. I think he is a good strong Union man but the young one I dont think is so strong. Neither one of them does any work, at least since I have been here, all done by niggers. They have lost twenty one horses since the war began, and in one day had twelve hundred bushels of corn taken away from them and still they have enough left to live pretty well. "Hog and hominy" is a never failing part of their living two articles so universally to be found in the South, but then they have other things in plenty and their table is set with the best of dishes, and we always have a clean plate to eat fare and pudding on. niggers do all the work. The old man asks a blessing at every meal, and after he gets through if things dont go right he'll swear a little 

 

There are two other safe guards here besides me What use he can have for three is more than I can see However if he is satisfied I am perfectly, and am willing to stay with him as long as the reg^t is here I am somewhat puzzled to make out the meaning of a part of your letter What do you mean by Pa's farming operations. Has he sold the farm? there must be a letter back yet that was written before your last

 

About my mowing machine I dont know what to say if he can get $105.00 for it he may sell it but for nothing less, that is if he has got a place to house it I shouldnt wonder if it would trouble him some to put it together and find all the things that belong with it some of them are overhead in the sleep some hung up around in the shop and some up chamber in my trunk. there is one little pin that is lost. I made a wooden one and used it all summer and then threw it away It holds a flat piece of iron down on the knives and also that keeps the pin in its place that holds the scythe and driving rod together

 

That other bill I have already invested so I will not send that. then he has put my money into 7.30s all right I wish he had put in two thousand. But I think I will stop

 

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If you had just as lives you may direct the box to So Milford Mass. The directions on the paper meant that there was no such person in in the V.R.C. which three letters stand for the "invalid corps". The right way to direct is 1^st Reg^t 1^st Army Corps. I dont get into the bullrushes very often I got a paper from Isabel Thursday L.C.C.

 

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The next time you write give me all the news that has happened over to Cooks. Thats all for now        Lowell.

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