Pleasant Valley Oct 8 1862

 

Dear Father

 

I received a letter from you and mother and one from Mary and I can assure you I was very glad to hear from home. I was very glad also to hear from John Whitney. When we marched out from Washington we passed some recruits for the 1^st Mass cavalry encamped beside the road but probably John had not had time to reach there then. If I come across the reg^t I shall be sure and inquire him out.

 

I am very much obliged to you for your kind offer in regard to money. you wished me to write how I am situated in this respect. I will tell you. I find my self at the present time with two dollars and a half in the treasury. Some of the boys have spent all their money and are now without a cent. And a good many of them are no better off than I. If I knew that we should be paid off within a month or so I could get along very comfortably but I find it is no uncommon thing for the old regiments to go three or four months and even longer without their pay. I do not suffer for want of enough to eat but it comes handy to a little something extra once in a while. We have a plenty of hard bread and meat, and once in a while beans and rice. I do not know as there any way to send it unless by mail. If you could send 50 cts or so in the new government stamps at a time when you write the risk would not be much and it would be as much as I need. We have changed our camp since I last wrote. While at our last camp the president paid us a visit and reviewed the troops. I did not see him. It so happened that thirty-eight men were wanted out of our company for picket duty and it was my turn to go that day. I should have liked very much to have seen him. Some of the boys that did said that he was poor as a crow and looked as if he had lived on hard bread all his days. We had a very pleasant time on picket though our duty was to guard the river and see that the rebels did not attempt to cross, but we did not so much as get a sight of one. I saw a drove of hogs on the opposite bank and heard two or three roosters crow so I guess the rebels are not quite starved out. We staid out two days. On the second day one of our batteries throwed a few shells across the river to see if they could scare up anything and one of them fell short and struck in the river not more than two or three rods from us but it did not happen to do any damage. yesterday we broke up our camp near Antietam Iron Works. We rose at three oclock packed up eat our breakfast and got started by daylight. /

 

Our road run right over a range of mountains called the Elk Ridge mountains. The road is impassable for wagons it being merely a sort of a bridle path to haul down wood that grows on the mountains. Part of Jacksons force crossed these mountains by the same path that we did and filled up the road behind them. We had a hard march of it. If you will climb to the top of Pin hill and then imagine the road stretched out for two or three miles you will have a pretty good idea of our tramp. And then the other side was as steep so it was about as hard holding back as it was climbing up. At the base of the mountain lies a beautiful valley about three miles wide and 6 or 8 long called Pleasant Valley. We are now encamped in one end of this valley on one side of it are the Elk Ridge mountains on the other the South Mountains. Harpers Ferry is about four miles distant. We are about three quarters of a mile from the Potomac and the Baltimore & Ohio R.R. It seems good to get within the sound of the locomotive and cars once more. I said that our march was a hard one what made it so was because we had a hard road and our brigade commander did not give us time to rest. He rushed us along at a great rate. I got pretty tired and stopped about five minutes and then went on again but the reg^t had not gone more than ¼ mile when they halted for a rest so I got up with them easy. When we got most to our camp ground a halt was ordered and the roll called. In our company we should have had 80 men there were but 22 present. There were not more than 500 or 400 in the whole reg^t. I kept up and came in with them with the exception of that five minutes. I do not tell of it boastfully but in order that you may know how I stand it as compared with others. I was present at the roll call but I do not blame those who did fall out for doing so. I had a good nights rest and I feel quite smart to-day. I do not expect we shall stay here a great while though I do not know how long. I suppose we shall take part in the operations in Virginia if the army does does not lay "all quiet along the Potomac" this winter.

 

Mary wanted to know if I wanted you should send me any papers and if so what ones. I should like to have you I am not particular what ones. Baltimore papers that cost 1 cent there we have to pay 5 for. For New York papers 10. I have got to the end of my sheet and with much love to you all I will now close

                                                                                   

from your son E. W. Stacy

 

Direct your letters to me Co. G.

36 Reg^t Mass Vols 9^th Army

Corps Washington D. C.

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