Camp Seigle Near Winchester Aug 23 1861

 

Dear Brother

                        I take the present time to inform you that I am well and I hope that these few lines will find you well I recieved your letter in due time and I was glad to recieved a letter from you and the rest of the folks. I suppose that you are glad that you are through all your harvesting for I know that I used to be glad when I got done you speak of there being plenty of fruit I am glad of that and I would like to get some of it for there is very little fruit here and what there is is very poor. we live very well here now we get a loaf of bread that is soft bread every day and I tell you there is not much of it left against night we are not disturbed much here by the / enemy only by a few bushwackers and calvery cavelry and they only trouble our pickets at nights which makes it a little dangerous to stand picket I was on picket the other night and I was posted in the woods by myself and I heard a slight noise in the bushes and then I heard a man cock his gun and I steped behind a tree and cock cocked my gun and just then some more of the boys come up and I suppose that he sliped off if I had not got behind the tree it would have been the end of me you speak of me comeing home in time to have a coon hunt but I have other coons to hunt you speak of Sid Guthrie volunte I suppose he thought he would come in now an to get [?] the draft tell Charles that I got his letter and was glad / from him and I will answer it soon Well I must quit now for I have run out

 

            No more at present write

soon                 From your afft brother

                                    F. D. Shepard

To Ellman L. Shepard

 

            Direct F. D. Shepard

                        Winchester Va

                        Co. E. 60^th Regt OVI

 

            [in another hand]

 

This letter is ninety

years old—

 

am sure this is his mother's brother—my uncle—

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