In Camp at Berry's Ville Virginia

Sunday Morning April 5^th 1863

           

Dear Annie

              I take my pen in hand this stormy morning to endeavour to write to you a few lines in answer to your very kind and interesting letter of the 22^nd March which I received on the 27^th at Harpers Ferry but have not had an oppertunity of answering it till the presant time I wrote to you while I was at winchester but I do not know wheather you have received yet or not our Regiment left the ferry on the 28^th about ten Oclock and marched about 16 miles that day and stoped in a large woods for the night and the next morning (Sunday) we marched in to this place and pitched our tents in a large field a short distance from the town I shal try and give you a description of the place as near as I can it is sittuated 20 miles from Harpers Ferry and 4 miles from Snickers Gap and 10 miles from Winchester it is but a small place with but few inhabitants the men are nearly all off in the Rebel Army and it is a great pity the ballance of them are not there. you cant find / a union citizen in the place some of them say they take the Oath of Allegiance if they thought our troops would stay here but they think the Rebels will drive us away there is no stores in this place and when we first come we could not buy anything for love or money but there is a Sutler here now and we can get some things from him there is four Reg^ts of our troops here now the 1^st New York Cavalry 12^th Virginia 67^th Penna and 6^th Md with a section of the 1^st Virginia Battery Hiram is getting prety well again and he is on pickett to day and it is storming very hard here to day it comenced to snow last night and the snow is nearly a foot deep and is still snowing very hard. Well Annie you wished to know what I find to do on Sundays there is but little diference betwene it and any other day with Soildiers we have to do our duty then as well as on a week day and if any one was to take a peep in our camp they would find some writeing some singing and (dancing perhaps) and at all kinds of amusements, generaly. Annie Soildiering is a gay life and any one to see us would think we were the most happy set of fellows in existance but we are like most of others we have some times of despondency but all are subject I belive subject to the same thing more or less I cannot say that I am unhapy / here and I believe I should rather be here than to be at home unless the war was over I dont mean to say that I like war but if I was at home now I should feel very discontented and could not posibly enjoy myself any better than I do here I would like to see you very much but I supose that I shall have to be contented with getting letters from you.

 

            it does me much good to get letters from you as you allways have something good in your letters which cheers one up so I would rather read one from you than anyone else that I know and should like to get them oftener than I do if it could be so. Sarah writes me good letters and I wrote her one before I left the Ferry but I supose she has rec^d it by this time you mentioned something in your last letter which I cannot rightly comprehend about keeping giveing your respects to a certain person or persons if I could get to see them I might be able to do so but there is no such persons here and I am at a loss to know what you want me to do and as for favouring you with insight about the matter I am unable to do so as I am ignorant about it myself but if I can find out anything of the matter I will be very happy to grant your request

 

You wanted to know if there was any girls down here I beleive there is some but they do not like Yankeys much and I beleive there is but little love lost / for Yankeys have no great love for Rebels I should like to see a union girl now to see what they look like as it is dangerous to talk with the ones that is down here as they might poison our minds with Secession principles I must bring my letter to a close as I have nothing of importance to write to you to day and it is of no use of writeing more of such nonsense as I have been writeing I want you to answer this as soon as you can and let me know the particulars hopeing this may find you all as it leaves me in the enjoyment of health and happiness I will close by giveing my love to you all and

 

Remain your most affectionate Unkle George the Soldier                     

to Annie M Monks

           

Direct to 6^th Reg^t Md Vols

Company G

Berry's Ville

Virginia

 

Corporal G.J.B. is well

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