Augusta County Va. January the 16, 1864 Camp Near Stanton

 

Dear Wife

 

     I imbras The Presant Oppotunity To answer Your Kind And Affectionate Letter of the 5 of The Presant month That I received The 14.  I was very glad to Hear from you and the children and all of The neighbours.  And To Hear That You all wer well. This found Me and This Leaves Me enjoying good Helth at Presant.  And I Hope When This Reaches You it May Find You enjoying The Same Kind And Good Blesing.  Mag I received a Letter From You Dec the 28 & answered it the 29 and received one from Farther January the 3 & answered it The fourth and wrote You a note and Sent it With Farthers.  I guess You Had Not Received Neither of Those when you wrote This Letter.  But I Hope you Have received Both of Them before this Time.  we left Mount Jackson the 10 of January and Marched Three days a went in camp the thirteenth at night. About 2 Miles from Stanton on the Pike I Tell you we have Had a cold time ever sence we Left Orange.  we have Had 2 Snows besides some cold reines.  The Mountains are now covered in snow  No My Dear I have Not Had the chance to go to jeneral French yet.  But I am in Hope to get a Furlough Yet Thes(crossed out) This Winter I Shall not get out of Hart yet althoe we are a hundred & thirty or forty miles From Home.  if I could get afurlough.  I could come Home in two days.  You said you and Annie Had a little Eggnog.  oh how it greeved me to Think That I were not There with you to enjoy my self with you and Annie and the children in drinking your Eggnog and eating some of your good Things.  I Should Like to Have ben Home to joined you in Singing But.  I recon you Think More about Singing Your bad Songs Than You Do of Singing Hymns But I Hope You will Take My advice And Try And Lead Anew Life For The time to come.  So if we Should Never Meat on earth That We May be Permited To Meet in Heaven where There Shall Be no Parting There.  But I Trust in The Lord That we May Be Permeted to Meet Soon & Spend The remainder of our days on earth in Peace and quietness.  For I Hope This cruel war will Soon be over.  And Our Solders all go Home.  give my love to jimmy & Sissy and willy and Tell Them They must Be good Children and Help There MaMa to work.  give My love to Farther & Mother and The famly and to all enquiring Friends and Keep a Potion For Your Self.  Give my love to Aunt Susan famly and tell Lizy that I received a Letter from Mr Steuard The 14 of this month he was well.  But I expect he will be home before This Letter gets There.  H C Fox Sends His love to you and all enquiring Friends and says He is coming to Stafford befor long and is going to get Him a wife down there.  Fox and my Self are mesing togeather now we have a tent to our selves.  we are tolarable well fixed But we Have not Bilt any chimny yet For we dont Know how long we will stay hear.  Willy & Jimmy are both well at presant and sends there love to you. & all enquiring Friends.  John Stewart got to The Company the 14.  you must write soon no more at Presant but Remain Your Kind & affectionate Husband until death

 

John. W. Watson