Head Quarters 9^th A.C.

Commissary's Office

 Camp near Fredericksburg, V^a

  Jan'y 1^st 1863.

 

            1^st Div 9^th Corps d'Armee

            Capt. Asa Gregory                                                     

                                                                                                

Ans'd Jan 17/63                                                         

                                                                                                         

 

Dear John

                        Your kind favor of the 29^th came to hand yesterday evening, and be assured was with great pleasure perused by me; this is "New Year's day" first, allow me to extend to yourself & Mary my best wishes for a Happy New Year; and then please wish James & Carrie Al. & Mary a Happy New Year and my friend Hattie Brown too if within hailing distance, and any other enquiring friends—               It is a magnificent day out here, warm & genial, more like a day in spring than a day in mid winter. Gen'l Willcox & his staff are away from Camp making New Year's calls on the generals in the Vicinity, leaving us Clerks to pass the day as best we can loafing around the Camp. Charlie Chase is now in my tent (ie the Captains tent for whom I am Clerk), smoking his pipe and trying to reconcile himself to his fate but with such a lovely day, it is mighty hard to keep ones good humor at being obliged to hang / around Camp; it's bad enough to be out here, anyway, but its a little worse to be tied up in Camp all day; You seem to have an exalted idea of my position here and speak as though I revelled in the Commissary Stores—but it is far otherwise I don't see any Subsistence Stores from one weeks end to another excepting such as I'm obliged to eat to keep body & soul together; my business is "clerking it" for the Chief Commissary of the Corps—he doesn't draw any stores at all, though when I first came here he did draw & issue to the Commissaries of Divⁿ but now it is differently arranged, and the Com. Stores are drawn by the Commissaries of Divⁿ & nary store does my Capt. draw, so that my business is merely that of Clerk, writing orders, copying letters, making reports, making up papers &c&c. this will give you a small idea of my situation. I must say it is preferable to being with the Company, but Oh! if this war would only be brought to a close, I don't believe I should be sorry, not a bit.

 

Mother informed me of the compliment you intended to extend to me, of taking an active part in the Ceremonies of your wedding. I thank / you for the compliment, & am indeed sorry that I was detained by "Special business" and couldn't be present at the Wedding; I requested Mother to extend to yourself & wife my congratulations, with my best wishes for your future happiness & prosperity

 

            With regard to my neglect of you, in not replying to your former letter, I trust you will excuse it, my correspondence is much more than I can well attend to, and at that time I was overrun & what's more had very little time for writing. Now I have more time, and though I have now some five or six unanswered letters in my pocket, I hastened to reply to your letter, for if you could take the trouble to write me two letters I certainly ought to reply to them and feeling it my duty so to do I have consequently taken the first opportunity which offered, and have commenced the New Year by fulfilling my duty to my friends, and if I can continue so to do, I shall perhaps have a good report to make at the End of the Year

 

            With regard to the Fredericksburg affair neither the 36^th nor 29^th Mass. were in the Engagement and consequently are in just as good condition as ever as far as that goes; though the boys are a little discouraged at the result of the affair at Fredericksburg / they feel a little blue, and would like to see this war at an end; we had a gay time Christmas Evening—the boys in the Company who used to sing together with myself got together and went around serenading as we used to do, when I was with the Comp'y. we went to three or four different Generals HeadQuarters, and serenaded our Capt. (or my Capt.) who treated the boys in great style & gave them all the whiskey they wanted in fact the boys got quite jolly and all agreed we had had a "Merry Christmas"—

 

            Though uncertain things are doubtful or vice-versa yet it is probable that a movement of some kind will be made soon, whether it will be an advance or not cannot say—hear talk of this Corps being sent to relieve Gen'l Heintzelman who is in command of the defences of Washington, but theres no telling where we shall go; our tent has been where it now is, between six & seven weeks—the H'd Qr's tents remained up during the battle and it was well they did. the Gen'l came back and re-occupied them. well I must close and go to work on my daily report. with love to Mary, also Aunt Carrie &c &c—I remain

 

                                                Aff'y Yours

Can't get any stamps—                                   W^m F. Hall

Excuse the joke & pay your

three cents old boy

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