Boliver Hights Va
Nov the 16 1862
Dear Charlotte
I once more take my pen in hat to write a fiew lines to you to let you know that I am well and much hope these will find you well. I got your letter last knight and was verry glad to hear from you. I believe that made the fift letter I got from you. I write one once a weak and I want you to do the same. My hands are are so cold I can hardly make a mark. It is a cold day. It is cloudy and looks like snowing. It has ben quite pleasent all the weak. You wrote that it snowed. When you wrote it was a clear day here but it was pretty cold and the snow was about gone that fel Friday wich I told you about in my last letter. I have ben on picet again this weak. I wast on Friday and came to camp yesterday. We dont have to stand only 24 ours. It is only about one mile to our picet line so they send a relief every day. Part of our picets was drove in the knight before we was on but that knight they was quiet. I belive there was a fiew shots fired on the left end of the line and one of our boys was taken prisoner. I guess he gave himself up. It was Snooks perhaps. You have seen him in Camp Susquehanna. I think your pa has. And the knight before they took three of Cap Staterds men. That is the compeny that Jacob Batcher is in. He is corp and he was corp of the post they was taken from. They was not taken from of their post but they only went a little wais from there to a home to buy some pies and they never returned. It is reather dangers to go out side of our lines. I went once to get some milk. It was about four oclock in the morning. I got back safe but I shal lok out for them. We expect to be attacked every day. They say that Longstreet is moveing a quite a heavy force this way and that he haint a great way off eather. Yesterday our men commenced choping and building breastworks and they are at it to day and we was orderd out to go but they dident haves axes enough but I think we shal have to go before knight. They have gone after more axes. I think the graybacks will have a hard time to get in here if they undertake it. We are agoing to have breastworks from one river to the other part of the way. We fall trees in every way so that it will be imposibel for any army to move through it but they would like to take Harpers Ferry if they could. But I dont think they can get us out of here because we have got a great atvantage but we had orto have more men here if they make an attack but we can soone be reenforced if they should. I got that peper you send me. That letter in the paper is true. We was verry tired when we marched through Washington and it was verry hot and dusty and it was lucey for us that we dident have to go on the Hights for it would ben a hard tramp as it was so hot and we want in good marching order and it was verry windy in Pleasent Valley. But if you haint read that letter in the Union News about us it will pay you to get it. That haint all true. I will write about it on another sheet.
Charles
About the letter
There has three roudys enlisted out of this company into the regular and another deserted. They was down on Davis and the Colnel because they wouldent let them do just as they had a mind to and I think one of them wrote that letter. It tells about the colnel cofing us if we dident look just so on inspection. That haint so. He wants his men to ceep clean and if he sees one look to bad he scolds at them and it is verry nesesary that he does it for some are so shiftles and lazy that they never would wash them self unles they had some one to make them and some go dirty as hogs as it is and it tels about Davis tiing some of his men together and then mirey them. He tied two of them togeather once for gambling. He tied their hands behind them and then took a bord and wrote in large letters gamblers on it and then he took and tied it to their breasts and two men marched them through the whole camp. One of them saust the capt and he cicked him and it stoped all gambling and I think he done write for they would get in their tents and gambel and curse and swear every chance they had. The boys all begin to like the colnel better than they did at first. He is agoing to be a good and brave colnel and our capt is well liked now. He gets better every day. William wants you to tel his folks that he got their letter and that he is well. If you send us a box you must direct it as you do letters except Washington you want to put on Harpers Ferry in the place of Washington.