Camp Gillmore Ports. Va.

Sept 22^nd /63

 

Dear Ari

                        I received your letter of the 17^th yesterday and was glad to hear from you. I am well and should have wrote before but we have been expecting to be paid off this four days and to day we shall get our pay for two months so I thought I would wait untill we got paid off. I have just been out and shook hands with one of our boys that has got his discharge and is starteing for home this morning. his name is Samuel Taylor of Portsmouth N.H. he is sick and has fitts. you say it has been cold at home. it is cold here. it is so cold that I can heardly write my fingers are so cold. one of our boys has been at home on a / furlough and he says it is colder here then it was at home. you wanted to know what we done with so much wood. we dont do anything with it only cut it down and let it lay and rot. we have got to cut down every tree withen two miles of the outside of our line of fortifications so the rebels cant come up and build breastworks and we not see them dont you see. by jolly ant it cold. I have drawed me a new overcoat and it comes handy this weather Oh the conscripts come last night for the 10^th N.H. Regt. thay were a good looking set of fellows. thay had 160 come to the 8^th Ct. Regt and it takes the whole Regt to gard them to keep them any where thay are a tough set of N. Y. Black legs old soldiers and so on. 

 

after dinner. we have been paid off at last for two months and I drawed all of my pay here. my clothing bill over run 42 dollars and thay took it out of my two months pay. it over run $4.40 cts whitch left me 21 dollars and 60 cts I have not had any mony for a long time and would like to keep a part of it if you can get along with out it. I have written a letter to Peter Sanborn for him to send you my State Bounty so you will get it with out any trubble to you at all. when you get it let me know it. I wrote to Sanborn to day the 22^nd.

 

I am in hopes that I can get along this year with out over running my 42 dollars for last year we had a pretty hard time to wear out clothing I think. 

 

remember that you dont get any 20 dollars allotment this time. but if you want the 20 dollars I will send it to you. I will send you five $5.00 dollars in this letter let me know if you get it. How is Elmer a good boy yet. you say he has got so he can shoot his gun at ready aim fire you tell him he must learn to fire at right or left oblike aim or direct aim fire dose he load at will or dose he by numbers. Ari tell him papa will learn him how to handle a gun when he comes home.

Give my love to all of the folks and I close

 

good day Corpl S. B. Tarlton

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