Camp Near Harpers Ferry

October 3^d /62

 

Dear Father and Mother I recieved Ur kind and Effectionate letter last night when comen in off of picket & was well pleased to hear from U all as I have not heard from U since I was to fredrick on our journey after the Rebs. I was glad to have the opertunity of again geting a letter from U this makes some 3 or 4 I have written since the fight & sent 3 papers one to Sarah and one to Charley and one to Father I do not heare from them. I am well as usual & verry sorry to hear evory letter and that I get from that sexion say Ur sick and about sick and also much more sorry to hear them say that U ar allmost crsy because I am away. please think of me at the proper time, but do not have Ur mind on me so much U will while cutting bread or meat cut Ur fingers, or while sewing stick the needle throught Ur finger. Father Mother Brother & Sister while from U I do not wishe to be forgot but all I ask of U while my health holds out is to try and kep alive and enjoy Ur self as well as U can & now do not be foolish about it. U must remember that worring is of no Use to Eph. and Eph is sure it isent to U. so try and look out for nomber one who is looked for in the morning /

 

I am getting quite well rested out so I think I can help dress out the gray backs once more before we go into witer quarters this fall but the most of the boys does not appear to be so fierce for it as they wer to Elmira. I am sorry to say that they air all full as fierce to get back to cattaraugus as they wer to get to Washington last fall I am agoing to tell a little what the boys think about our brave & superior officers which Ran all over Cattaraugus Co. Bowing & blowing Raiseing all men & some Gentleman telling them they would stick by them Rain or shine, to start er sickness will call ennybody away. that we air willing to give in to, but when they air well we would like to have them Return, especily if we cared anything about them but as it happens we can run our shanty alone if we take a notion and not get twice as much charged on the book for clothing & so forth the is half of the boys that has got as much again charged for clothing as they ever had I have got over one years clothing charged to me on the book so the will some come out of my pay when I draw I never have began to had a years clothing but there is where the boys finds the smartness of there comanders the boys all feel quite vexed at our 3 Commishond officers. the books, company books now planly show it as well as they air trying to show it. say for inst. sneeking off in other Regts. Resigning & pilforing off / And allso lots of other little pilfering things if the folks wants to get up a barrell of socks & so forth & get & throw in a little money & so forth to help the boys I think the is no danger of the socks being kept along until cristmas or newyears then presented to the company as presents from the Captain nor money kept out of sight. I misspoke myself I said if the folks wanto. I ment if they should happen to ment to say we do not ask for any such help though, but I was just susposing the case. we have got a Lieutenant & corpril or two made out of privates but cannot see yet which is agoing to be the most duriable. I must stop & eat some hard tack & stew the last of my berries for supper because they will not let us have a fire on the Picket line & our tirn comes on post at 4 oclock & the will not be another chance again untill morning so U see we haft to cach it by chance. the Rebs got one of the 64^th yesterday he crossed the lines a little for watter & their cavalry scouts picked him up. they get some of our men & we get lots of theirn but that amounts to nothing October 1^st we had a Genral muster, President Abe & Genral McClelon rode through our Camps with plenty of canonadeing musick of all kinds & plenty of heavy cheers granted to them they had 25 body Guards with them. I was down to harpers Ferry Oct 2^ond & saw them cross the pontoon bridg for Arlington hights. I heard verry heavy canonadeing there this after noon. /

 

The is some 23 in our company & the does not onley 17 them Report for duty. Bill King we have heard has got his discharge. Jud Bartlett is to Baltimore also R. Shipy. I got a letter from Uncle Em the other day he sent to me for his decriptive list. So I got Camler to make it out & wrote him a good long letter & sent it to him first I had writen sinc the battle. I hope Em will get his discharge & go home if he is not able to stand the hard ship & I am quite well satisfide that he is not well it is sunrise October 4^th /62 I will try and finish we air on the Reserve now & I will finish before we go into camp we had no trouble on the lines last night. it was a bad night to stand because it was so windy a reb could got right on to the line before we could see or hear him but we wer ready 3 on apost & the Posts onley 4 to 6 rods apart. we air so cost to them that we could hear their bagage train last night Or artillery could not tell which but we air ready for them any time if they wil atact us here they will not find Genral Miles here Ready to give up 7 or 8000 men & artillery & small arms acording that was a shame & disgrace to the Union. Dock Ur such a frog hand writing I would like to have U drop a few lines to me once in a while write about my colt & calf & so forth write soon as U get this because it takes a good while for them to travel Give my best Respects to all inquiring Friends.

                                                                                                E.E.B. to J.L. D & Sa Brown

 

my table to write on was a tincup part the time & the other part a Rail but maby U can read it

SOURCES