Belle Plain Landing

Sunday Jan^y 25^th 1863

 

Dear ones at Home

I am now again in my old home having lived through this last battle after 5 days hard fighting the fighting hard & severe as it was we were all of us able finally to get into camp again having accomplished a trip of 30 miles calculating out & back and the fighting was mostly to get out of the mud & keep dry & as comfortable as we could & hard work to do that as it raine a most all of the time & you cannot imagine how severe it was for some of my poor boys with nothing but / shoes on to pull their cold wet feet out of the mud it would have made your heart ache to see them & compare their condition on the march to what they night have been had they had the boots I intended they should have & now I say I want sent to me one case of good boots I will limit it this time to one case as your fears seem to be that they will be lost any how & if they are it will kill me & many is the young man that would have given you many blessings if they could have a pr of boots on this tramp by making you a present of 2.00 each & cost. Now Abbie I want such boots as Percey sent me excepting say not quite as heavy & the usual sizes you may / fill all the spaces in boots & box with something of value to us say apple figs raisins saltnuts peper cummin beans maple sugar or any such a thing as you think but I will not dictate you in that matter however but the boots I want as soon as possible. I have recd a letter from bert & he is well I am rite glad to have June the darling Oh I forgot to say I want a pr of No 10 Congress boots for myself for these boots are rather heavy to wear all the time just right for mud however. I hope I shall get some letters from you by & by if you are not all dead the mail is waiting & I will stop

                                                                                    Father

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