Camp Hodge August 14^th/64

 

Dear Father Mother and Sister

how do you do this morning I am well and feeling quite gay with the exception of being mad on the account of not getting any letters this week the boys are all well except John Wait he is quite sick or thinks he is he has got his discharge and is coming all the rest of the four months men are going to stay two months longer I am at work in the mill now and expect to stay there till my time is out it aint verry hard work and we dont have to go far to it

 

have you got don with your haying and harvest yet be you going to have hay enough to / keep what stock you have has George Metcalf gon back to his regt I should think he would get his discharge if he want able to go back he must be having a good time now at home so long I should think he would hate to go back

 

we have all the fruit now that we want such as apples pears peaches and mellons the citizens come in evry day with wagon loads of them there is another kind of fruit getting quite thick here that we dont like so well and that is gurillies but we are getting ready for them Captain Hodge enrolled 30 of us and armed us with carbines and the negroes are building a fort for us today we will fix them if they come where we / can get a crack at them we are going to sleep in our fort evry night so as to be ready to rally at the slightest alarm I expect we will go out forageing and scounting evry few days we will have some good times if we do our guns are breech loading they are an awful savage thing to shoot how is my gun at home getting a long I cant think of any more write soon

excuse mistakes                                                                                                          Newell

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