Camp near Middletown

Virginia June 19^th 1862

 

Dear Mother

                        I received your letter last night and was very glad to hear from you you said in your letter that you were glad to get a letter from me no doubt of it for I know well enough myself how much good it does me to get one. when I wrote George the letter of the 1^st I was in Winchester but I wrote you one at Milltown about 2 miles from Winchester well we came away from there the next day I wrote to George and here we are at this place which is about 5 miles from Strausburg I tell you what we are getting well into Dixie 

 

you said that you would be glad when this war would be over and what a happy day it would be when all the soldiers would return to there homes indeed I wish it was ended and we all could come home it is a hard life to make the best of it our Legion is in a bad way just now having no Quarter Master with us to look out for our comfort some of the men have no shoes to put on and a great many are sick and what makes it worse we have no tents to sleep in but the officers take good care to have there tents with them oh, they dont think much of us Marylanders, but we take it in the best manner possible and donot care for any of them one thing we can drill better than any of them about here / and they (regiments from other states) know it and that's what makes them mad. I have a first rate arangement to sleep in here as well at the last place we were at and you can keep your mind easey about me on that score for you know I understand how to look out for myself by this time I think that the Rebels are all out of the Valley now and we will keep them out I expect for there is a great many Union troops about here just now it is with great interest that we are waiting to hear of the fall of Richmond. a great battle before that place and the Union forces victorious will be I think the death blow to the rebelion I hope it will prove so I think it will if the Rebels do not run like they did at Corinth and make a stand at some other place /

 

I am in first rate helth and have a splended apetite this is a pretty part of the world I had a nice lot of cheries the first day we came here there is plenty of fruit about here I have to stop now as it is time to go on drill (9 AM)

 

give my love to all at home and all enquireing friends and keep a good lot for yourself

                                                                       

from your afft son

W^m H Grape

 

PS enclosed you will find two Virginia notes which I send to George as curiosities I thought he would like to have something like them to put in his room

I expect we will be paid off in a week or two when we do look out for a letter

                                                                       

write soon       W^m H Grape

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