Sunday Dec the 7 62
Dear Charlotte
I have eat a good breackfast of your cooking and now I will write a few lines to you to tel you what I have ben doing this weak. I wrote you a letter last Sunday and told you that I was sick. I was sick then but I am well now. I will tel you what cuerd me. We got orders to march last Tuesday morning. We started. I did not feel verry well. I had dierea and had an excuse from the doctor but I wanted to see the fun so I went but I had a hard days work. I had to fall out every little while but I would ceach up again. We marched 29 milds the first day. When knight came my apetite was good and the next morning I felt good. We went into the woods and build fiers and all lay around it. Rast and I scrached some leaves togeather and doubeld our blankets so we slept quite good. We staid there that day until most sunset. Then we went 4 miles and went in the woods again for the knight. There was plenty of good dry rails and we build good fiers and got straw to lay on. The next morning we started early and went to Winchester where we expected to fight but the rebels left there a weak ago. The most of them at least. What was there scedadeld and it was a luckey thing for us for if there had ben much of a force there they would have cut us all to peases for the place is so well fortified. But it was an easy battle. We was drawn in line of battle 2 miles this sied of Winchester and Generl Geary sent a flag of truce to tel the woman and children to leave and the news came back that they had moved from there. So we marched in. It was once a pleasent place. It was the size of Binghamton but it is mostly burned. There has ben some hard fighting done there. We dident stay there but a little while. We went 6 miel and then stoped for the knight. That was Thursday knight and I had to go on picet that knight. They had to have picets every knight. They would put them about amild from where the army lay all around so it took a good meney men for picets. We would build up good fires on every post. We was staceaned about 40 rods a part. That knight I was on there was ten or twelve rebel caverlymen fired a volly at the men on the second post from me and give a yel and left shortly after that. I went to get some water about 60 or 80 rods from my post and in les than half an hour they went right by the spring where I got the water. In the morning the troops all left and then the picets was drawn in and they would be the rear guard to pick up stragelers that would fal out. If eney one falls out they must ceep far enough ahead so that the rear guard dont reach them. If they do they get punished. I was way back in the rear rank. It went verry well all day til about 3 oclock. We stoped to rest when we heard fireing back. It dident last long. Our cavelry was drove in. They came as fast as the horses could run but we had one canon with us and they shot twice amonst them and it made them scedadel but they come close enough so that their bulits whired over our heads and would hit some of us but we was in a hollow in the woods. That was the most of fighting I see. You must read Rasts letter that will tel the rest of our skermishes. That was Friday when I was in the rear guard and three oclock it commenced snowing and it snowed until 8 oclock verry fast and I tel you we had reather a hard knight but we stoped near a cornfield and we built hovels of the corn. It was a verry large field and not much of it husked and it was all disdriod in the morning. We set it all on fire. If it hadent ben for the corn we would have suferd but we got up in the morning and eat our hardtacks and pork. A man started for home to Bolivar.