December the 24th in camp near Fairfax Station
Dear Wife
I now seit myself to answer your letters. I found one dated the 14 wich I received knight before last and the one that was dated the 7 I got yesterday and was verry glad to hear from you and that you are all well. I am well with the excepth of a cold. The most of the boys have got a cold and cough. My cough is worse since we have ben on the march. It was better before I took cold. Again that suirp helped me but it haint as bad as it was a day or two ago. I wrote a letter the 13. I dont know whether you got it or not. I told you a little about our march in that up to that time. That was Sadurday I wrote. I told you we was going to rest until Monday but we got orders to go Sunday and so we marched all day Sunday. We went within about 20 or 25 miles of Fredersburg. We could hear the large seage guns roar when they was fighting to Fredersburg but it seems Burnside was defeated and had to retreate back but he burned part of the citty and I guess he would have taken the place but his shels was bogus. That is the talk about here at least. We was all disappointed when we had to go back but I suppose it is necessary that there should be more troops about Washington. We are 17 miles from Washington. I dont know how long we will stay here but they say we are going to stay somewhere about Washington this winter. We all expected go to Richmond when we left Bolivar but we sliped up on that. You wanted to know wheather that box had ben opened or not. I am the only one that opened it and I had a good job of it it was nailed so solid. I guess your pa nailed it. I got them socks and every thing was all right in its place and the papers on just as you put them on. You sead on your letter you was agoing to send another box. If you do you must direct it to Washington. We had to march shortly after we got the other box so we dident have the good of it as we would had if we hadent had to left it but it done me a good deal of good. That musterd come good on the march. I would put it in water and use it for drink and that peper I think a good deal of. I make sort of a stew of hard tack and pork and that peper is just what I want to make it good. I luged all I could when we started. I took all the saucage and 20 onions and the most of the cakes and some of the butter. I had a heavey load. If you send me another box you may send some of them poore fried cakes. They taste so good down here. You may send me some more peper but I dont want you to go to to much trubel for me. I can get along without it but if you do send one you had better not send to large a box for we shant have eney winter quarters and we may have to march just about the time I get the box. It has ben verry cold for a fiew days back but it is warmer now. We heard that Billy was getting better and would be with us in a fiew days. There was a letter and a paper come here for him yesterday and I got that union news you sent. That scoundrels name is Mory. He is in our compeny. He is a hard case and he has ben punished for gambling by our captain and it made him mad and wrote that peace. You sead that the oats was threashed. I owe Barton 25-bus. Let father measure them and try and get them to him this winter. You wanted to know what I done with your letters. I saved them all until we marched and then I burned them. I had so much to carry. I dont know wheather you can read this or not. I haint got eney ink so I have got to write with a pencil. No more this time so good buy.
Charles to Charlotte
Good buy Charlotte
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