Oct 30^th 1862. City of Hagerstown

 

My Dear Wife. Our Brigade rec^d marching orders last evening to go to Williams Port and broke camp just at dark & I came with them as far as this town but had to give out and am waiting here for the Ambulance wagons which are expecting to leave here to day for the Brigade Co^l French arrived with us yesterday afternoon & he advised me to remain behind, but by getting here I can reach camp without walking. Our Boys got their arms & equipments only yesterday afternoon. Williams Port is about six miles from here situated on the Poto' River. A general advance is now the order of the day—I think. but I may be mistaken. As to my / my own health, there is nothing new. I am no worse & not much stronger. My appetite is very indifferent as to food or drink. Quite a large number of our men are unfit for duty, and stragling behind but will soon get better if they are permitted to rest for a few days longer. The Lieut in charge of the Ambulances wanted I should stop as near headquarters as possible to be convenient for notice to be ready to leave with them, so I applied to a private house & after some effort got in for the night with a very fine family of the very strongest union sympathies by the name of W^m Updegruff. Here I fell in with a young man of our Reg by name of Shirer / (nephew of our Orville Shirer) who Mrs U took from the street side just ready to die some two weeks ago. She has given him a mother's care but he is very weak yet unable to walk down stairs. He has been sick of fever and diarhea, is but skin & bones. He has had a letter writen to his Cap^t but he has given no attention to him & he has rec^d no pay for over four months I am going to take the matter in hand when I get to the Reg & get him a leave of absence or furlough if it possible. I wrote you a letter on Friday & on Sunday—I think. When I get to the Reg & find out the order for the future I write & tell you all. We have been told that Osborn carried all / all the letters & packages sent by him back to Schuylerville with him—my package with the rest. so you had better send up there & get it for there is no surity of of his coming to the Reg very soon if at all.

 

I rather incline to the opinion that he—O—will try to make an excuse of his internal injuries to get a discharge from service. at any rate I am quite sure he will try some means of escape from future duty. Charley Burdwell & Bartlett are drivers of ambulance wagons quite a secure position from bullets This is quite a nice town & the lines between the unionist & cesesh are drawn very close. A man has got to be one thing or the other—can not be neutral. Think I would like to live here. 6000 inhabitants & but two dentists & one of them very rich & inattentive to business. Well I cannot think of more to interest you just now.

 

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I shall look for a letter from you to day. Direct your letters same as before. /

 

Think I will go & call on one of the dentist here by the name of Brewer & see how the business is carried on here. We can buy goods cheaper here than in any other town we have been in since we left York State.

 

The family invited me very warmly to remain with them until my conveyance may leave in full welcome if I can put up with their fun which I consented to if they would take pay for it, but their reply left pay out of the question, so I cannot tell how it will be, as I cannot consent to live on their hospitality. The City is full of soldiery & has been since the war began. The roads here are generally very good. Their pikes are very nice—hard & smooth. I think if / there is a general advance into Va, there will not be much fighting this side of Richmond and aut to fall this fall or before the first of Jan'y.

 

            I have writen to Cap Welch about coal—4 tons—soon as you can have the bin ready 2½ tons of fine coal for cook stove & 1½ for sitting room egg size but now think had better get two tons of each.            

 

Now dear Hattie I must close to have my letter ready for the mail. so good by

                                   

Most truly yours         Cyrus.

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