Direct until further orders to Baltimore Md

 

Baltimore, Md.           

July 23. 1865

 

Dear Sister.

              It has been a good while since I had occasion to write to Sally but one has presented itself at last and therefore I am at it.

 

            Isabel I suppose has been expecting an answer to her letter for some time past but we have been bumming around so much lately that I have not summoned resolution enough to go about it

 

            But she need not think she is going to get rid of writing another letter yet, for I shall go at it before many days and write up a good long foolish one. /

Your quarter dollar bill I rec^d yesterday and a letter enclosed I think I will send a fifty dollar note to take over to Cook if you will be pleased to do so, and at the same time ask him to be so kind as to send me back a five dollar note. I think that will be enough to keep me a while Your quarter note has already bought what it was able to. Accept my much obliged for the same

 

            You will doubtless see by this that we are no longer at Camp Stoneman. We left there last Sunday morning and came here and went into barracks at Fort Marshall just opposite Fort McHenry. The regiment is now all broken up. three companies are at Fort McHenry, two at Relay House, three at Fort Marshall / and the other two in Baltimore The last two are companies "B." and "F." We are doing guard duty at the Provost Marshalls office opposite the Washington R.R. Depot This used to be a slave pen before the war, but for the last three years has been used for keeping prisoners, deserters and such kind of trash. It is a real nice cool shady place as you ever saw, nice and cool like an oven. This is not the only attraction by any means. after dark the bed bugs pour out of their holes in swarms so that it is out of the question for me to think of sleeping any At fort Marshall I had to give them the inside of the house and take my blankets outside to sleep at all. Here they will hardly let us stay in the house at all / I sleep on the roof now and get along pretty well. Camp Stoneman was a paradise compared to this. Our tent has broken up and the tent company divided off into four messes Laning is in a mess Ayers in another, and McKenzie and I in another. I think it doubtful if we ever get together again in the field I am sorry the regiment was scattered for I had got what is called a "soft thing" of it. I carried the prettiest little flag you ever saw, and had nothing else to do, but our coming here put a stop to that. Here we have to be on guard about every other day. I am on guard duty to day am inside the slave pen and locked up with the prisoners. that is two hours at a time. Tell Ma I guess we shall be at home about a week from next fall, not before.

 

I dont take the Pat or I would send it to you

 

[margin]

 

I would like to have you send the V as soon as possible as there is pretty good chances to spend money here. L.C.C.

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