Oct the 2 1864

Hart island NY harbor

 

Dear Emma

                        how do you and the children do this morning I am well and in good spirets and hope that you are the same i suppose that it is sunday with you bit it is no sunday here i suppose you want to what we have to eat i will tell bread meat coffee rice bean soup stewed dried apples but no butter we have got to work 3 hours per day the goverment is a building a lot of barracks here to put rebbles prisenors they are agoing to fetch 10,000 rebbles here and they say here that our regement is a comeing here to gard the place how it is i dont know but it is the general talk /

 

yesterday our Sharon boys left for the front down to dixey all but jim mereness Peter hiller Luke Carl Elic collins ham collier charlie houghtuley and G A Empie they is about 90 in our compeny that I know all first rate boys it rains here to day so we are all house up they is about 5000 soilders on this island quite a army here yesterday they sent of 1000 to day 1000 men when we get down south we will make old Jeff look for his hole we have the news here every day and good news from the war 5 or 6 boys club in to gether and buy a paper evry day so we can spend some time in reading i must close for it is noon you can rite me a letter but dont put eny likeness in tell i send for it we may leve here soon give my love to all the friends and neighbors that is all

 

direct hart island New York

harber second battalion

barrchs k

 

            rite as soon as you get this

and send it off as soon as you get this can

 

here is a kiss for ma                x

here is a kiss for libby             x

here is a kiss for Charlie         x /

 

ma kiss liby and charlie for me

libby and charlie kiss ma for pa

and be good children Emma keep up

good courage remember your God

and me in your praers and my

prare to god is that he will watch

watch over you all and soon meet

and talk to each other again

 

                        may God bless you

            ma and Libby and charlie

            From pa           G A Empie

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