Camp on Queens Farm Dec 26/61

 

Dear Kate       

I send these few lines to let you know that I got over Christmas day all right side up with care and I must say that I never passed a more pleasant day in my life than I did yesterday. the day was very fine and every body was in good humor Col Williams gave us a short drill and after that we were reviewed by him and the Major of the first Long Island regiment of our brigade and then we had a holiday untill dress parade our captain sent down from Phila an order on the Sutler for any thing that we wanted to give the boys a Christmas dinner at his expense and we had chickens boiled ham / potatoes pies of all sorts ale and beer and every thing necessary to make up a good dinner for my part I dined with a few friends who had some things sent to them from home we had roast turkey roast chicken mince pies pound cakes pickels celery fried oysters and other things too numerous to mention. At supper time our Company had enough left to get up a first rate supper and after supper we had singing and music the Colonel, Lt Colonel and the most of the staff officers were there and expressed themselfs very much pleased with the way our Company passed the day. we had our street trimmed off in regular Christmas style with green bushes of all sorts and a long table of boards down the middle of the street for the dinner to night on dress parade the Colonel complimented our Company / very highly for the manner that the Company conducted themselfs and the manner in which the dinner and supper was got up we are considered the crack Company in the regiment and have charge of the colors. I only hope Kate that yourself and the children had as pleasant a time as I had myself I wish you had been down here to see us. I suppose that the boys had their Christmas garden trimmed up again and enjoyed themselves over it as much as they did on last Christmas I was thinking of them and you on Christmas eve and thought of the difference between last year and this. this time I went to bed at half past eight O'clock and last year it was nearly twelve when I got the garden trimmed for the boys. I had a visit from John M^cCann yesterday. he came in time to get some of the good / things and he came to the conclusion that the 31^st Reg't was a gay regiment he was surprised to see your Colonel come into the Officers tent where we were eating dinner and set down with us and take a piece of pie and a drink of whiskey with us and ask if he could do any thing to make us more comfortable. I told you in my last letter that I had to go on guard on Monday morning and it was the worst kind of weather that we have had since we have been out here it rained snowed hailed and blew the whole day and at night it got so cold that it froze every thing up as hard as iron it was the coldest night that we have had yet. but I got through all right I am pretty well used to rough weather now and by the time that I get home again I will hardly know how to sleep inside of a house it comes as natural to sleep on the hard ground now as it used to be to go into a feather bed I will have to close up now as tattoo is beating and I have to turn out to answer roll call write soon and let me know how you spent Christmas give my respects to all the folks at home

                                                                                               

Thomas Hatton

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