Camp Hancock Va

            Jan 30^th 1863

Dear Sarah on yesterday I received a letter from you dated the 23^rd Januay also I received a letter from oliver and this morning I received a packet of paper Invellips and pens your letter contained 8 postage stamps all of which I was happy to receive as such things can scarsly be obtained here and now if you dont here from me often it will not be your falt and I will have no excuse hereafter

dear Sarah I am well at present and was glad to hear that yourself and all the rest was engoying/good health Dear Sarah when I wrote to you last we expected to have a battle at this place before this time when I wrote to you we had three days rashions cooked and under marching orders for the battle the pontoon bridges was hold down to the rapahanick river all redy to throw bridges cross the river to attact the enemy at fredricksburgh in the mean time thy was one hundred thousand men maed to cross over the battel was to open at nine oclock next morning it hapened that two days before this battle was to take place that thy came on a cold rain and the rodes become/so deap and mudy that the teams could not get along and after a great deal of suffering from fetique and cold we ware forced to retreat and fall back to our starting quarters the rebels painted a broad board white and put on in black letters Burnsides a sticking in the mud the most of the soldiers here thinks that if this battle had went off that burnsides would have been defeated with a loss of the greater part of this army as Fredricksburg is said now to be the strongest fortified citty in the united states/

Generial Burnsides had become very unpopler in this army so much so that he was in daingers of his life from his own soldiers it is said that he has been shot at severial times by his own soldiers he resined his command last week and left this army generial Hooker is now appointed in his place the rodes are now so bad here although the wether is warm we think that thy will not be any more fiting done here untill spring thy are a great deal of dissatifaction in this army at the present/time that the army has become almost demorled—and most all say since the niger message from the presedant that thy will not fite for the niger any longer Thy say if thy fite it will be to sustain the Constitution as it has been thy are a great many deserting and going home. you can tell edwin Haugh that Gust is here and has been in good health ever since he listed W^m P. Woods and Jacob Haugh has been sick for the last two or three monts Jacob Haugh is in the hospitel at little York Pa. Woods is here

Dear Mussy we have not received any of our pay/yet but think that we will before long as scoon as I receive it I will send it to you as I expect that you nead Mony by this time

Dear Mussy I have not had any mony since I left Cockeysville but have always got along very well I have had tobaco about the one half of my time dear Mussy you have been very kind in offering to send me some mony in case I wished it but dear Mussy I do not want you to send me any as I suppose you nead all you have and I can get along without it things are so dear here that a few dollars/would not amount to much a dollar would not by one good meal here chease is 60 cts per pound here old butter is worth 87 cts per pound and other things as high in propotion a chunk of tobacco that you pay 25 cts for I can chew it up in less than two days for this reason a man is better without mony here than to have it. I was sorry to hear of the deth of Mr Foster I sean Perry about a week ago. he was well on last Sundy I was in the camp of the 105 Reg I eat dinner in the tent of Winfield Barr the boys of this reigment are generaly all well/

I enclose you a line to B. T. Haistings you can present it to him if you want to take his paper any longer the time that I paid in advance for my post office box has expired if so—you had better take a box for a year and let me know the number of it.

Dear Mussy if you can rent the one half of your house to some good person in case Oliver mooves away it would be better for you to do it and stay where you are but do as you think best I hope this letter will find you all engoying good health I send my love to you all I remain your loving husband WRodgers to Sarah Rodgers

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