Suffolk Va March 21^st

 

Dear Parents

            I received your letter dated the 16^th to night and was glad to hear that you were all well.

 

I am well at present and all the rest of the Boys. there is not mutch news to write at present.

 

Our force has had annother little skirmish near the Blackwatter the Rebbels were behind their breast works and our force left them there.

 

I think there will be annother march before long to try and drive / them to the other side of the river. But it will be quite a spell before we could move anny force to amount to anny thing.

 

the roads are very bad at present.

 

wensday it rained all day and yesterday it snowed all day and to day it has snowed and raned and is a very wet time at present.

 

you said that you saw John Lee the other day and he said that there was no use to send boxes down here.

 

But I guess that if John Lee had to live on our rations a month he would want a change I think / most anny one would if he did not

 

I will tell you what we have.

 

For breakfast we have potatoes meat and bread and coffee. and for dinner beans bread and coffee. For supper rice bread and coffee. the pork that we draw is nice but the salt beaf what we call salt horse or mule is what I dont like the fresh beaf that we get is killed at Norfolk and some of it is rather old and if anny one likes these rations steady he can stand most anny thing /

 

you spoke about my writing to Byron just before I got his last letter I wrote to him and the next day I received one from him he was then in the hospital in washington and the same night I answered it. I wrote another to him just after he left for Fort Scuiler and I have not had his address till to night. to morrow I will write to him if I am not on duty.

 

tell Allen that I have got the apple that he sent me this is about all I can think of at present

 

                        tell allen that he must send me his likeness beffore long if he dont he will catch a good licking when I get back I dont know whether you can read this for I wrote it by the lite of our fire place

                       

write soon                              

Will

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