Camp Getty, Portsmouth, Va., Dec. 26^th/63

 

Dear Father & Mother,

            I received your letter of the 13^th and was glad to hear you were all well and I hope this will find you all as well as it leaves me at present.

 

            You say you have sent me papers but I have received none but one. I should be very glad to have a paper once a week. I have received several papers from other persons and I dont see why yours dont come as well as theirs does.

 

            You wanted to know if I owed John Cook any thing, I did owe him one dollar but I paid him the day I left B.

 

            I wish you would collect all my books togather and put them by untill sutch time that I may need them. If you have not sent the Box by the time that you get this I wish you would send me that letter writer as it would be very for me as I write so many letters and some of them I like to be very nice about as they would make remarks if I did make any mistakes.

 

            I think if the Rebs had tried to destroy Buffalo they could easy have done so as their was not any Cannon at the Fort to object them and what few Malica their was they could not have prevented them in the least.

 

            If Father is drafted and is accepted he had better let Alfred try Soldiering but I dont think either of you would be accepted. I hope they will draft some of the Boys that likes to stay around home so well.

 

            I thought I would not say any thing about my getting the position I had promised me but as you have asked I will tell you. When we arived at Sackets Harbor wheare the Regt. were, we were all put in to Co. B as high privates in the rear rank and our Capt. Jack Pollard was made first leutenant of the same Co.

 

            Tell Mrs. Hurley that I wrote to George soon after I came away but did not receive any answer yet.

 

            I must tell you how I spent my Chrismas. In the morning we cleaned our selves up as well we could and took a walk out around the country. Then we went and had what we called a good dinner. Pork stake, fried onions, potatoes and coffee. After dinner we sadled our Horses and took a ride around all the camps in this vacinity. Myself and Tom had a horse race. My horse beat. You would have laughed to have seen Tom with his hat in hand beating his horse. We had a ditch to jump and as toms horse jumped the ditch tom went head first over his horse and if he had broke his neck I dont think I could help but laugh. So we passes our Chrismas away. My best respects to all.

 

                                                                                                from your Son,

                                                                                                            Geo. Booth

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