Warwick County Virginia April 28/62

 

Dear Daughter I received your leter of March the 29 I was happy to hear from you I had a leter from home about a fortnight ago they wer all well When I rote whe were about 4 miles below here whe have advanced about 4 miles since nearer the enimy whe are within a mile & a half of the Rebels fortifications whe send out Pickets in site of the Rebels the Rebels sent a shell into one Company of our Regiment that was on Picket one day it did not hurt enny one it burst near them I saw some of the peices of it there is guns fired on both sides evry day & night the ball has not opened in earnest yet & I think it wont for some time yet altho I can not tell there is a great menny troops in advance of us they lay along in sight of the Rebels lines & exchange shots occasionly the maine vilage of York town is 4 or 5 miles from here altho their outter fortification is within a mile & a half of us You will see by the maps that Yorktown is situated on a perninciler runing down betwen James & York River it is verry thinley settle here the houses here will averige about 2 miles apart this place is 100 years behind the Northen states in improvements / and it was one of the first settled states in the union there is one house in site of our encampment there is a grave near the house with a toomb stone on it that dates back to some ware about 1780 I have forgoten the exact date She was 33 years old when she died so she was born over 100 years go the white foke have all deserted the house ther is some Negroes left behind there is but few white foke to seen that Owens house is here I visited one plantation ware it is said the man owned 1500 Negroes I should think it might bee true by the looks of things there But the wites & blaks had all ben removed & all their effects that was of much value it was a nice place I shoud like to have it for a farm I would settle on it quick after the war was over There was peech cherry & pear trees in blosum over a fortnight ago My duties have ben light since I was detailed for one of the Coler Guards it is fatigeing to with a heavy knapsack & 40 rounds of catriges three days rations & gun Our marches are short most of them Whe are a good deal exposed whe have had no tents since whe left washington until last Saturday there was small tents furnish big enougt for 2 whe shall have to lug them in our knapsacks I can not tell when whe shall bee / likely to bee at home I suppose your mother has got my last alotment before this time there will bee 2 months pay more due the last day of this month whe think shall bee likely to get it soom Plees rite soon From your Farther A T Katon

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