Camp on Queens Farm Dec 22/61

 

Dear Kate. I send these few lines to let you know that I am well and hope that yourself and the whole family are in good health wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Our company have just come in this morning from picket duty we were out three nights and days and we are nearly played out for we have no shelter when we are on that kind of duty but we were very fortunate to have clear weather but very cold you may know how cold it was when the water in our canteens froze as solid as could be at night and we had to build a fire in the morning to thaw them so that we could get / water to drink this morning about three O'clock I felt very sleepy and I gave charge of the guard to one of the Corporals and laid down on the ground with my blanket around me to get a nap and slept for three hours as sound as a rock for I had not had any but about four hours from the time that we left camp and when the corporal awoke me about twenty minutes of six my beard and moustache was all ice and had to thaw it off with my hands when we arrived in camp about 9 oclock we had to go on inspection and it was nearly dinner time before we got our breakfast (muddy coffee and goverment pies commonly called crackers) after our fine breakfast I done my weeks washing I had two shirts a pair of drawers two pair of stockings a pair of white gloves a towel and all my handkerchiefs and I tell you it was a devilish cold job but I consider that I done a first rate days work for a / Sunday and by the time that I got through I had to get ready for dress parade and after that was over we had supper and then I got to work at this letter so that I had no time to take a sleep through the day but I guess that I will make up for it to night as I expect to go on guard tomorrow morning and will be on my feet for twenty four hours without a chance to hardly set down as you will get this letter I hope before christmas just think of me when you set down to dinner and when I am eating salt horse and hard biscuit I will imagine that I am eating roast turkey and mince pie and it will do me as much good if it does not taste as nice. tell Kelly that I received the papers from him and would like to hear from him as soon as possible / and let me know what is going on in Philadelphia give my respects to all the folks at home and all enquiring friends. I was in the city of washington last week on business for the Company and visited the Capitol the House of Representatives and the Senate Chamber and all the places about worth seeing that I had time to visit. we are going to have the sibley tents with a stove in each and I do not like them for there has to be twenty men in each tent and I would rather be in one of our old tents and freeze a little than be with so many but I suppose we will have to stand it no more at present. write soon tell the boys to be good and not to forget me

Tom

 

I will write to you and let you what kind of a time we have on Christmas as soon as I can

Tom                                                   

 

does Ally go to school yet and how does he learn

tell him he must learn fast so that he can

                                                                                   

write to me

Tom

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