address 9^th Penn reserve

Corps near Washington D. C.

Virginia Oct 11^th 1861

 

Dear Sister Aggie

                 We are in "secessia" at last. I received your letter & Mothers afterwards & was very glad to hear that you were all enjoying good health. I would have written sooner but we have been under marching orders ever since I received Mothers letter. The day before yesterday we got marching orders & in the afternoon we were put in motion for Old Virginny. The boys did not know where they were going & when they commenced crossing the chain bridge they yelled & shouted as though they were mad I felt joyous as I put my foot / on secession soil we marched about 5 or 6 miles into Virginia where we are for the present encamped. We camped near a large Hay stack which the boys soon got at and in 10 minutes it was all carried off for bedding. in the morning our boys (Co C) shot a couple of porkers & we had some fresh beef meat for breakfast. To hear the chickens squealing all around was good fun I can tell you. Now & then one would escape & about 100 would get after it. I had a nice breakfast this morning of cold pork. it was captured last night & cooked & left till this morning. The whole division of the reserve came over the same night as we did there are 14 Regiments our regiment came / over first. We are camped 1 mile past a place where the rebel pickets were driven in the day that we arrived here. I cannot tell where Bobs regiment is encamped but I think it is ahead of us about 1 mile. there seems to be a general movement of our troops another victory at Hatteras & the report that New Orleans is taken has reached us whether it is true or not I cannot say But this month will doubtless see most of the hard fighting thats to be done. Us Boys are a little saucy now we think we are going to have a fight pretty soon. We are stationed it seems between the grand Army & Gen Banks division & we can be called to join either as we are needed. I cannot find Mothers letter just now but I mind the most of it. Tell / Mother that there is no danger of me hurting my stomach with the stuff sold in camp. while we were in camp Tennally we could get pies & apple dumplings & to eat one once in a while is very good for the stomach Kind of a variety. as to clothing I have as much as I want & if i needed more it could easily be got from uncle Sam. the reason I left a pair of drawers & a shirt was because I had got a blue shirt in Camp Wilkins & a pair of drawers in camp wright & I only wanted 2 pair of each to carry I have got a good pair of knit drawers & an Overcoat from Uncle Sam in camp Tennally Now dear sister I must close We are in more danger now & I wish that you all would remember me at a throne of grace

 

write soon as you can & believe me to be as ever your affet Brother

give my love to                                                                       Hugh Fraser

            all

 

[margin] I am in the best of health

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