.NTU3.NzI0

                   Camp near Chaffin’s bluff
                         July 25th 1862

My dear wife,

             I received your good long letter

of 17th yesterday having gotten one dated 14th a few days before. I was very glad to hear that you received mine regularly and in as short a time as four days. I would feel much better, if I could hear from you as regularly,

                                        out

but sometimes I go ten or twelve days with a line from Home. I always have thought that if you were sick, or if any of the chil- dren were sick, I would be permitted to come to you, and be with you; but Gen. Wise now refuses to give furloughs for any reason whatever. I applied to him to-day for one, after getting the signature of my company officer, and of Col. Goode, but he positively re- fused, & Col. G told me he had just refused to give one to a man who had a sick wife at Home. Col. G. signed it because Capt Bos- [...ville?] had told him he thought I ought to be al- lowed to come home for a short time. This is unreasonable, [dear?] [Precious?], and I think no

 has a right

man ought to place himself in a situation where he cannot be with his family in case of when sick. I wish you would write me word what you think about my getting a substitute, & what your Pa thinks of it. If I should get one and feel again disposed to join the army I coud join where I will have more privileges, & be sub- jected to fewer hardships then where I am. The hardship & exposure I dont mind through, that is the smallest part. It is the thought of being kept here, in one days ride of home, doing nothing but drilling (and I know about as much of that as any of my officers) and ditching, - and what little ditching I do in a week might be done by Henry, if he were well, in one or two hours. I can [abul?] only trust you and my all to God, Darling, and I feel and know that, whatever becomes of me, he will take care of, and deal very tenderly with you & our little ones. I feel very uneasy about the children while there is so much scarlet fever around you. - you must use every precaution to keep it off, & if it should come, let me know immediately. I

will come to you. Henry is might sick, and has been for a week, with billious fever, but Doc, says it is a mild case. He is very anx- ious to make a short visit home & if I had succeeded in getting a furlough, I intended bringing him with me. We have been training another negro to cook for us, but he is now gone, and we commenced to-day cooking for ourselves. There are eight in our mess now, & two cook each day, making our time come once in every four days. To-day is my time, & I had a breakfast [which?] you, I think, would have eaten with relish. Nice soda biscuits and beef-steak. Whenever they give us beef (about once in ten days) we manage very well, but all the rest of the time I eat no meat – nothing but bread [frequetly?], or bread & old corn-fried pear, or dried fruit stewed with no sugar. I dont complain of this though – stand it very well – and

                                     (26th)

really sometimes enjoy it. (Saturday morning) I stopped writing yesterday to get breakfast dinner - prepared a fine dish of beef chowder. Wish I had some of the onions Aunt [Quince?]

dug from her garden – they are fine to have in camp. [Jarn?] Graham is one of the cooks to-day. Doc is so lazy we have to [excuse?] him & make him bring a little water. Hope we will not have to cook long as Henry is getting better very fast. You spoke of the hot weather. You cant imagine how much the soldiers suffered from it – Especially the sick, a good many of whom are in hospital tents. We have built a nice porch of [forks?] & brush to our tent, which gives us a good shade. Sam & I (bedfellows) sleep in the porch every hot night – just as the negroes used to do when thrashing wheat. It was always a comfort though to know the Yankees were suffering more from the heat than our men. Gen. Wise wouldn’t let us ditch during the hottest of the weather. We have thrown up some large & beautiful redoubts & are making our position apparently impregnable. Our Capt has been absent from the company for six weeks sick. He went to K & Queen & while there was

                  a

arrested by some small party of Yankee cavalry on a marauding expedition – he saved himself by his great coolness & presence of mind – made his es- cape, collected a small company of citizens,