Thursday May the 26 Chesterfield

 

Dear Wife

                  it is with great pleasure that i again am permited to send you a few lines and few at that for i time is very limited i am well the letters that you sent me i got last night all of them you wonder how that is well i will tell you you see that we went on a great raid the greatest since the war and then we could get no letters how could we we was only 1 mile from richmond could see the church spires the battery of ours throwed steel in the rebbles works in front of richmond they are the first that was ever thrown we was nearer to richmond than any other man ever was i got a small stone a white one that i piked up on the battle ground we was surrounded we was in a / fix i tell you we had 30 cannon playing of the rebs at once we lost one man wounded in the ankle but that was befor we got their billy was hit with a spent ball on the shoulder it made a blue mark Hackman was hit on the left arm it only made a little road on his arm just missed him how it did burn he said i had a hole put in my blouse six inches below the last button right on the edge of the coat i did not know wen it was done but the boys said it was a bullet hole the boys plague bill very much they say he was so far in the rear that the bullets was spent befor they got by him he is the biggest coward i ever saw he shivers as if he was froze wen he goes in the skirmish line i heard by anies letter that george Duffield was killed but it is not so or never will be he is the captins cook and does not go in the fight he is with the pack train in the rear we fight in / squadrons two companies together ours is G (and) I george duffield L M i wish i could tell you half i have seen i never thought a mans head could hold so much yesterday is the first time we came up with our forces we are still on the left burnside is on the left yester i saw 12 thousand prisners we have been fighting evry day since the 5^th day of May our loss is terrible betwen 40 and 50 thousand grant was reenforced yesterday with 60 thousand strong wich makes his lines as strong as ever we our rejment has not fought but 10 days that is all we fought the rest we was on the reserve i have not seen one dead man yet not one but i could by walking a couple of hundred yards i suppoes you think that the men lay as thick as they can but only about a hundred yards apart that is pretty close i have got so much in my head that i can hardly rite / but one thing is shure that you need not be uneasy about me not a bit for their is no danger the mail is going no time to rite more have to start

My brexfast

                  H H Covert

 

give my love to all

tell both fathers all

                  about it

                  your loving Husband

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