Camp Near Prats Landing, Va. Jan 18 1862

           

Dear Mother

                                    I received your ever welcom letter to day I was glad to hear from you onc more & to hear that you was all wel I hav looked for a letter from you for a long time & at last it has come It is verey pleasent wether here now for the time of year & we hav got verey good quarters to what we hav had for this fall & winter but we hav got to leav them now I expect the regiment has marching orders now to be redey to move at a verey early hour in the morning I expect thare is another move to be made on fredricks burg soon I wish this devilish war was ended but that wont be the good tidings for a long time I think I dont know what they will do with me if they go in the morning one thing I do know I cant march I hav bin doctering ever sinc the third day of Dec & some of the time I hav bin very sick & I am but little beter now I hav had the chronic Dierre for more than two months & it has got me verey week I am better of that now but that is not the worst thing that ails me now I am afraid my limbs swell verey bad my legs ar verey numb & sweled verey bad my joints pain me verey hard I hav slept out of the hospitle so far but if the regiment marches to morrow I dont know what I shal do I dont want to go to the hospitle if I can help it but I dont know but I had beter some times I think I hat / I blote very bad all over I do not know what is the caus of it & I hav the rumatism bad enough I think that my souldering has nearly plaid out I am verey poor you would hardly know me now if you could see me when I was not bloted if I dont get beter soon I shal try & come home I dont care mutch about comeing home this winter I would rather com in the spring rather to cold I think this winter but it dont agee with me here the water dont agree with it is verey ironey I dont like it I got a letter from Ester a few dayes ago the folks was well I get a letter verey often from her I get two from her whare I get one from home George has never answerd my last letter that I rote to him By what I hear William Henry Palmer is a smart yong man & I think that the least George has to do with him the beter. it is none of my business but I would give him a foolish brothers advice to be a stidey boy & keep out of williams company I know that if I had of had a stider disposition I would of bin beter off to day than I am & not be whare I am to day You spoke about my geting all the nues of what is going on around old preston about all the nues I get is the folks ar all wel Harriet dont rite mutch nues to me tel her I think so I got Francys likeness I would not loos it for a good bit I hav got harriets yet but came near loosing it I smashed the case all to peasis in my pocket but did not hurt the picture eney & I had the good luck to get hold of an old case that fited it the case is as good as a new one I wont tell what it cost me but it cost me some thing les than two dollars 

 

It dos not seam as though thare had bin all the changes that hav taken place sinc I came from home but we little know what time will bring forth I often think of you all I would be as glad to see you & the rest as eney of you would to see & maybe a little more so I think that time will fetch things all rite yet I hope for the best I dont want eney of you to worey about me I must give you a little some thing to laugh about Archabald Foster has gone home on a french furlow & five more out of our company sinc we came here I hav not time to rite all that I would like to rite this time I must finish it to knight for I dont expect to get time to rite again verey if I hav to move with the regiment I rote to Harriet quite a while ago I should think that you all mite rite to me & rite oftener than you do I want to hear from home as often as I can I like to hear what is going on around home I should think that Father & the boyes mite rite eney of them hav a chanc to ten times whare I do once I know that the post offic is not handy by to you I should think you all mite rite oftener than you for all of that I dont want you to wait so long before you rite again if I could get hold of some one sent stamps I would home a paper now & then this is a hard place to get stamps of eney kind I can hardly get a stamp for love or money I want harriet to let me know if she wants more money if she dont I wont send eney till get beter than I am I want som stamps tell her & I dar not put eney money in this letter for if the army gets on the move it may not go I may hav to cary it in my pocket a month before I can send it the mail went to knight 

 

I had a bad dream the other knight I expect to hear bad nues from some sorce soon but I hope not I thought of you all verey mutch Christmass & New year I was all to home but my carkis & if that had of had wings that would of bin thare to in a hurey I dont expect you can make out what I have rote you must do the best you can I hav a bad position to set in to rite & then my hands ar as bad as eney part of my bodey I can hardly use my fingars my head bothers me to I am light heded you must excuse all mistakes in this tell fran that I look at her very often & would like to shake her a little I want her to be a good girl & mind her mother & grand mother & go to school & learn all she can she looks as though she had grown some I supose harriet has to mind her insted of her harriet tel her I want to know if she can scold as hard as she used to I hav not got weaned from home yet & never can I gess I wish I was whare I could get my fill of bread & milk / I have to bord myself now dayes for I cant eat meat of no kind hardly coffee I cant bare or rice & hard bread eather I by what I eat & hav to or starve I dont know what I would hav done if we had not got our pay when we did we expect evry day that we will get paid again it would scare you if I should give you a list of what evry thing cost here it is hard to see how a souldier has to pay the tarif on what he gets they charge a souldier a double price for what he gets the sutlers ar a makeing thair fortunes out of the poor souldier I hav not time to give you the price of things this time if I think of it when I rite again I will give the prices it is geting late & I hav not time to knight I hav not slept hardly eney for four or five knights & I am under the necesity of sleepeing to knight give my best respects to all the old neighbors & my old friends & dont for get to rite as soon as you get this I send my love & best wishes to you all. good by This from your son Abner B Palmer

                                                                                               

To Jane Palmer

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