Martinsburgh [faded]

Oct 16^th 1864

 

Dear Father & Mother

I will pen a few lines to you this morning to let you [faded] so you will be contented about me this is the first time I have had a chance to write since I left Camp Stoneman I have been in the saddle day and night for two weeks except for two or three hours to [faded] time to sleep I [faded] to the regiment and saw wallace and had a good time with him he is all right tough as a bear we got to the regiment at night and / and wallace was out on picket so I did not see him till the next morning and I had just time to say a few words when the bugle sounded for to saddle up so we had to leave and in a few minits we heard the canons play very livly So Harris Light was called out to help but our company stayed and did not go because we was not drilled enough I expected to be called out they were fighting on both sides of us and pretty hard I tell you Alfred brought back a peace of a shell that struck very near him I tell you Mother they are fighting here in the Shanadoia but it will / not last long for Sheridan is playing them right out We are about 20 miles from our regiment now they sent us down here to guard a wagon train after provision to carry back we expect to start back to day the train that we come with was 3 miles long so you se it takes some men to guard such a train We had about 500 Infantry with us besids a lots of Cavalry Old Mosbys cavalry lays on the road to pick up the trains but I guess he will get a hard one if he attacks us but I guess he wont for there was a train went threw last night and was not disturbed 

 

Mother we got in to a rather of a hard spot when we was a coming we stopt to a town called [faded] whare the rebs was all around us and our company had to stand on picket and our pickets got shot at like every thing but they hapen to slip over my name so I did not have to stand on picket I supose it was my good luck we stayed there [faded] days and we chased them every day but I did not get a chance to shoot last Sunday we drove them six miles and then come back stoping to a house and took thing they had and then set the house a fire I got ten pounds of tobacco so that will keep me a smoking a spell

 

Mother it was luckey that we got in to the Harris Light I wish I had brought a pare of gloves for wallace

 

[margin]

 

Direct your letters the same you do to wallace only put In care of W H Sanger

 

you need not put my company on

 

I will write again when I get back to the regiment     Ira A Torrance

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