Camp 84^th Reg'^t P.V.

Near Petersburg, Va.

November 16^th /64

 

Dear Cousin.                                                       

                                    Geo. W. Jacobs.

                                                                                                            Your kind and most welcome letter dated the 2^nd reached me on the evening of the 7^th I was indeed glad to hear from you again & to learn that you are all enjoying good health. Cousin my health I think is improveing I am pretty well again. I do not think that I am as sound or that my health is as good as had been formerly. My duty is very light now. since we are in this camp the men have pretty hard duty all the time about every other or third night night they have to do picket duty / as there are but few of the Co. in camp still. I have only to make the details & report them and hand in a daily morning report that is about my daily duty still I almost forgot I have to eat & sleep besides all that. But you will no doubt think that I am writing rather foolishly. Well Cousin you said in your letter that you had heard that Gen. Hancock had a severe engagement on the 27^th & hoped that we was fortunate enough to get through safe By this time you have heard all about the engagement that it is hardly nessay for me to give you any of the details of the fight. I shall still tell you a little about how it went Well for a little while it went rather rough & tumble & seemed as if things was upside down, for they Enemy was shooting three ways or rather from three sides at us. (It was a little hard / juke all the bullets) I thought that the rebs threw some shell among their own men. they threw them over our men & fell among theirs I heard others say the same. But seems that our men got rather the better of Joneyrebs At least by all accounts we captured the larger number of prisoners We retreated back after night some 4 or 5 miles The next day we waited. that is I am speaking of our Brigade only, untill all had come back from the Battle field. We marched back in front of Petersburg & encamped for the night since we have move to the front line of works & doing picket duty. The pickets keep us a fireing all night at each other some stray bulletts come into our camp We have had 2 men wounded in camp out of our left since we are here, both in the arm. Cousin you said you hoped that I would excuse you for your negligence in not answering my letter sooner I shall if you promise to be more punctual / in the future. You said you received my last about 2 weeks ago. My letter certainly could not of went right through for I wrote on the 27 of September. (You must not do like Brindle wait 2 months before you write then say you have not received any letters from me. But acknoledge to have in other mens letters. You need not tell him this for I did myself.) Joseph A. Stair is kept very buisy & says that he does not get time to write he says that he has not wrote home for several weeks. he is not fixed for writing. his tent is open at the one end & cannot keep a candle burning after night on account of the wind he sends his regards to you & said that he would write as soon as he could The rest of the Co. are all well I will have to bring my rambling letter to a close for this time hopeing to hear from you soon. Please excuse me for scribling so I wrote this in a hurry & it is begining to get most to dark to write in the tent I want to send my letter of in this evenings mail Remember me to all inquireing friends I am

 

                                                                        as ever your affectionate Cousin

G. W. J                                                                                                            W^m C Wolf

 

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I put in a vote for little M^c But I am afraid it did not amount to very much as he is beat out for this time

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