Jan 31^st 1865 Near Popular

Grove Church V^a

H^d Q^rs D^et 50^th NYSV^ol Eng^rs

 

Friend Mary it is with pleasure that I find my self seated to answer your very kind & welcome letter which was received by me this morning & read with pleasure I was glad to hear of your good health but sorry to hear that your husbands health was poor for it is hard enough for a soldier if he has his health & I hope that he has recovered ere this. there is not much news here now for we can not get any papers lately. I have ben to work on the Captains tent for the past few days the ground has ben froze so hard that we could not work on fortifications but we have got to try it to morrow again our Company has got four forty to repair & they are about four miles from camp it gives us a good exersise nights & mornings we had much rather do it than lay out on the ground / we have some splended buildings at our head quarters I wish you could see them they look so romantick. mary do you remember milton barr he sets here in my tent reading he came out last fall for one year. you asked me what had become of bill I will tell you all that I know about him he maried mariah Curtis & went to Canada & she was not pleased with the place so they came back & staid one winter & then he went back & left her to his fathers & he never has ben back & that is four or five years ago She staid to his folks about one year & then went home to her fathers they had two boys & they are at our folkeses yet he has never wrote to nan or me for we said a good many things about his doing as he did & I sepose that your folks wrote to him about it so / we never hear any thing from him our folks corespond with him but they never say any thing about him to us kate told us that he was maried again & had got two more children he runaway with both of them to get maried mariah is maried again they both were small fish but there is no use of telling you that for you know it. you knew mariah did you not. enough of such. I received a letter from maryann yesterday morning She was at green Benetts he had got hurt prety bad but she did not say how it happened she says that the friends there are all well I also received one from nan they were all well & nan says she is spining flax. I guess that you thought my last a long letter I did not feel like writing / in fact I was rather down hearted you must excuse me if I do not always write very interesting for I some times get lonesome if I could write as interesting as you do I would not mind writing but I will do as well as I can & that is all any one can do you think that you will injoy your self out in the old valey I hope you will those old hills may look natural but that will be all & I think that you will not think that they look as they used to if you go out there in the spring you must go so as to stay all summer & go out & see nan she would be very glad to see you I can not think of much to write to night. I remember very well night that you spoke of about bill & have heard vie laugh about the apples. the night that I spoke of was at the red house at singing school after you gave them the mitten I spoke out & said that I was going home with mary & you said that is so & took my arm & we walked off the reason that I spoke of it is nan & I have laughed at Thom about it & he always denys it for you know that he always thought he was some he is not so bad now but I must close for I must write to maryann to night so you will pleas excuse me for this time & I will try & do better next time please excuse all mistakes & poor writing

 

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Pleas write soon & oblige your old friend my love to Mollie & her family from

dave to Mollie Shibly

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