Nov the 26 

Near Popular Grove Church V^a

Hd Qrs Det 50^th NY Vol Engineers

 

Friend Mary I received your kind & welcome letter last night & hasten to reply I was sorry to hear that your eyes were weak but I am in hopes that they are well by this time my health is good we have ben under marching orders for the last week with fourteen days rations but I do not know where we shall go or as we shall move atall very soon for we often get marching orders & do not go but we have got to go about three miles to work to morrow but we shall come back at night it is bad that oliver is so that he can not write any oftener I do not know what I should do if I could not write / & hear from there often but I should have to put up with it I supose as a good many there have to I have ben luckey about that since we have ben in front of Peters burgh & that has ben over four months I got a letter from nan night before last they were well Hariet is maried. I also got a letter from maryann to night She says that the folks are all well out there She talks of going out to see Nancy I should like to be at home when she comes out there there is nothing new going on here. I come off guard last night & feel rather sleepy & have got to be up in the morning at four oclock so you must excuse me this time if I do not write / a very long letter or a good one. you say that it is a soldiers duty to write home I think it is but no more so than it is for his friends to write to him you say that he must know that they want to know where he is & how they fare but I do not believe that there is many of you know how we fare if we write evry day I know that I never write home how I fare for we had it awful hard last summer part of the time when we were on the march we had to work nights & march days & onely five hard tack a day at that & good share of the time no coffee or meat of any kind but the worst was water I have ben two or three days without washing me / for I could not get any to drink let alone washing but I am in hopes that we shall not have any more such marching to do I feel in hopes that they will do something this winter to bring it to a close for it has ben an awful war & there is no one that can tell unless they have ben where they could see it & the efects for they no nothing about it up north but I must hury for it is agetting late I should think that they were slow about paying in Shermans army I have not ben paid but once & I do not know when they will pay agan it reminds me of old times mary to get letters from you but how things have changed since the last time that I saw you I lived in the house that your folks moved out of when they went away & I often thought of you all whilst I lived there but you would hardly know the place now or the inhabitants either but I must close for this time pleas excuse all mistakes & poor writing I will try & do better next time write soon for it gives me much pleasure to read a letter from you

           

From your true Friend

D. G. Pierce

           

To Mollie C Shibly

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