Near Atlanta
August the 21 64
Dear Charlotte
I received your kind and wellcome letter of the tenth yesterday. I was glad to hear from you and to know that you had heard from me since the battle of the 20th. I received the paper you sent me. We hadent had eney mail in three days till yesterday on account of the track being torne up by Wheelers cavelry betweene here and Chatanooga. Trains run regular again now. It is a wonder that the rebs dont bother our communications more than they do but they have got all they can attend to here at preasent. Your letter found me well and glad it left you all well. You say Maties deafness is some better. I wish I could do something for her but you are out of money so you cant do much. I dont know when they will pay us. I hope before long. They owe us most eight months now. I dont see how they think soldiers famelies will live without. They can have their pay soone. There is some men in our regt that have famelies and they never sent much of their wages home and they must be sufering now. I know verry well they are because they complained terably when prices were low and when we got pay every four months but I havent got that to think of. I have sent you the most of my wages so if you have to sufer now I wont be to blame. If I had done as some have that I know have famelies I should feele verry guilty. I think it is a shame fore a man to spend his money here and pay doubel for a thing what it is worth and his famely sufering for the want of it. I am verry glad I dident take that corse. I dont think eney man will that thinks eneything of his famely and them are the verry men that find the fault and say our goverment might do better. I pitty their famelies. It is now three oclock. We have seene one more quiet Sabbath. The chaplain preached this forenoone. I say it is quiet. It is to what it generaly is. There is occasionely a artilery shot fired and the pickets ceep fire some. There is once and a while a musket ball whizes by but that is nothing. We have got uest to them. There has ben some quite hard fighting on the right of our lines since I last wrote. Your paper gives a verry true account of the great battle of the 20th. It was about as hard a fight as we ever had for the time it lasted and the number of men engaged on our side. The rebs had the most of their army mast against our corps. I am sorry we lost Hooker. I felt perfectly safe when he was with us. He was alwais around in the hotest of the fights his horse prasing and he would sit straight as can be. He is a splendid officer and we will miss him verry much. We are having considerable rain now. It has raind some to day. It is cooler than it has ben. I must close for this time. Write as often as you can. Let me know where Rast is and how they are geting along and all the rest of our folks. Good buy dear Charlotte.
Chas Engle
I dont know what to do for writing paper. I can borrow some but the boys havent got more than they want.