17th Pennsylvania Cavalry

Item LTR-371

Description

4 page original Civil War soldier's letter written in period ink and war dated.

Sunday, February 15th 1863

Dear Sister and friends,

It is with great pleasure that I sit down this morning to answer your letter of the 9th which I received the 13th. And I was glad to hear from you and to hear that you were all well. For your letter found me in good health. Last Wednesday, we moved back to Aquia Church, twenty miles, and we were three days moving on the roads which were so bad. The whole Army along the Potomac has moved back. I don’t know how long we shall stay here. Tell George that I am very much obliged to him for sending me the postage stamps. For the day that I got them, I had sent the last one on a letter to Emily. And now I can write only two or three letters more until I can go where I can get some more paper and envelopes. In your other letter, you wrote about somebody coming home on a furlough but I could not make out who it was. James Wilber is here in our Company and so is George Rogers and they are all well. And George Arnold is sick in the Hospital. I guess that he will get his discharge in a few days. When you see Manson Gates tell him that I would like to have him answer that letter that I wrote to him four or five weeks ago.

Wednesday, January 28th, it snowed here all day. The snow fell a foot deep and the next night it was all gone. And we have not had any more since. But it is a raining today and our tents leak. Our tents are not half as big as the tents we had when George was here. VanBuren Rogers tents with me. He is sick now and has been for three weeks. I think that he will get his discharge before a great while. But I don’t think that I can get my discharge unless I am sick or get wounded. I got a letter from Platt Rogers the same night that I got yours. And he wrote to me and asked if I would send him eight dollars. That he would give me a receipt in full for what I owe him. He said that my wife had paid him two dollars. Tell Father if he will get the money and pay it and take a receipt in full, that when I get my pay I will send him ten dollars. I think I shall get my pay between this and the fifteenth of March. The most of the soldiers are paid off and they are paying every day. The Captain says we will get our money the last of this month. I want you to write and let me know when it is paid. Tell Uncle Elias that I should like to hear from him. But it takes all the time that I can get to write home and to my wife. For I have to be on guard twelve hours in twenty-four and the rest of the time on other duty. So no more at present. This is from your affectionate Brother,

Herrick Lunn