Old Point Dec 18 1862
Dear Father and Mother
    It is with much pleasure
that I seat myself
to write you a few lines to let
you know how I get along   I am
well and enjoiing myself tip
top and I hope this will find
you the same   Ma I was very sory
to hear that you was so much unwell
but i hope and pray this will find
you better   I received your most welcomed
letter of Dec 12th today and you cant imagine
how happy it made me feel
to hear from home   Ma was you
sicker than you wrote me or what
was the matter   I know there was
something for your writing showed
it or that is some of it   I am at the
Hospital yet but I have not got my
clothes yet so I haint been outdoors
			turn over

yet but I have borrowed a pair
of pants today so I am going out tomorrow
if it is warm   it is rather cold hear to
day   there has been 2 or 3 nights that was
colder that it was any night last winter
so the nurses say but it is warm the
most of the time   we have heard from
apart of Bankses expedition   there was
4 Co of 114 reg on a steamboat by the
name of the Thames   there was a ball
shot through her that disabled her so
they had to unload ___ the souldiers
at Port Royal   they had to throug everry
thing over board so the boat would not
sink until they could get the men
off   she got under water before all of
the men could get off   Jud knows
enough to eat about 1/2 what he wants
he haint had a letter from Steve yet
he didnt write home at all untill
3 or 4 days ago   if his mother cared any

thing about him she must have
worried some   he would not have
wrote when he did if I hadent of dogged
him to it   he was so lazy he layed abed
to write it   he is actually to lazy to
draw a natural breath   no he was not
well enough to go with his Father   the
Capt didnt say much to me the
last time I saw him   he was hear the
same as today and tomorrow   the
___ started and they didnt know
they was going so soon and he dident
have time to come ashore   you see James
dunbar dont know it quite all   you
must not beleiveall you hear for
there haint any truth in one half
of the lies that is told   The Hospital
that I am in is right North of
the ripraps about 5 rods from the
shore   I sent a paper home this
morning   there is a lot of news in
it   no I dident get that paper you
sent me but I got the socks all
                      right

I guess that I have got all of the
letters but 1 or 2 and I have answered
them all and I have calculated to write
home as often as 1ce or 2ce everry week   no
I am not homesick nor uneasy
nor haint been but once and that
was when I was on the boat and
that was enough to make anyone
homesick but I should like to be
home most darned well and thats so
no there haint any guard kept over us
there is a lot of men deserting   any
one had got a first rat chance to
skeddadle if they had a mind to
Samuel Bennet is verry sick   I wrote
a letter for him to his brother day before
yesterday   Dor Holbain is so sick
that he cant help himself and I
am going to write a letter for him to
his brother   they are stealing hear
some   Dor has let me have his
money to take care of   there is 10 dollars
of it   some one took a dollar out of
my pocket the other night
and some one stole 2 dollars from
Samuel Bennet when he was so
sick that he could not hold his head
up   he says he knows who done it

it is now after 10 oclock and
I must go to bed so good night

[finishes letter on Dec. 19]