.MTA.MTI
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Washington Feb 3rd 1862
Dear Brother
I received your letter in due time and I must say that I have not received a letter that was so interesting to me as yours was. Some folks have a mistaken idea about what kind of letter soldiers want writen to them, such generaly tell us of our privations and hard ships we will have to endure and the dangers we will encounter. They think we have not found them yet but mind you soldiers do not want such letters. They wanto know what is going on in the domestic cirkels and in the barn yard and wheather sister Lizzie grows or not and who keeps school and who goes home with [Lovia?] from spelling school and wheather they have good meeting
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or not and all the rest of the every day news. A little good advise does come amiss to a boy in a strange land I will try and write you as good a letter as you did. The other night when the brigade officer was making the rounds it was very dark and just as one of the sentry chalenged them " " who comes there (one of them bumped his shin on a little stump) and by so doing he said the devil. The guard says halt the devil advance one of his imps and give the countersign and as he approached the sentinal he said to him self that hurt like d--l) the guard says that is not the [?] you stand and mark time or I willl shoot you and he keept them there until the seargent came and let them [?]. The other might had mind to leave camp and find where our officer [?] away their evenings</html>
