Oct 7^th 1862

Camp at Harpers Ferry Va

 

Dear Parents                                      

Your letter of the 29^th is received is just received after a long delay you directed it to Company C I got it to day from the company you may think that we are close by Loomis we are about one mile from his camp and I cant get a pass from any but the Col and his pass will only go to the river it has to be countersigned by the Provost Marshal and I cant find him without a good deal of trouble and we expect some thing will turn up before long we are on the camp which Jackson camped three weeks ago and about one mile from the late battle at Harpers ferry the boys are all up there to day amost some of them have brought rifles and some of them have brought balls of evry size and shape some have poison and some have buz saw wheels which / make a hole as big as a mans hand any where it hits him the rebel camps are in sight and if camp stories proved true we would have had a brush with them before now but we believe about half of them I have not written to Loomis yet but shall before long I saw one of the 1^st LI boys at Washington he was in the hospital he belonged in Co K I believe has been at Harpers Ferry since the battle says the 1^st were under a sharp fire part of the time but thinks that none of Co C were killed or wounded and knows of but two that were killed any how so you can rest on that source I think and I saw the papers almost evry day and did not see the 67^th NY spoken of but saw Couch Division spoken highly of though he belongs to it yet dont he we have poor grub yet it has got into the Hartford papers all about the poor fare we get I come across the bridge that Jackson / blew up across the Rappahannock and the canal and the water tanks which they water the engines were all blown up the bridge is the largest and (or was) handsomest that ever I saw and when he came back he stole cattle and killed them the heads of some them lay all around our camp it smells bad they are still burning the bodies of the killed on the late battle field it seems hard but it must be done the boys are all well and in good spirits I am glad to hear that the crops turn out so good and I hope Father and Frank will not be behind with their fall farming dont give in to hunters note or to old Sage I am sorry Father is in such a fix we have to walk pretty strait we are so near the rebels that the officers are more strict I suppose twenty of Company C were court martialed and their pay taken from them for stealing hens / pigs I will now draw to a close give my respects to all from your

                                                                                   

Son George

 

direct to Company D and not C

 

send postage stamps a dollars

worth I will want eight

 

write soon

                       

Direct to Washington DC

SOURCES