6th Maine Light Artillery

Item LTR-380

Description

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

In Camp Before Petersburg, Va.
March 3, 1864

Dear Sister,

I received a letter from you yesterday and hasten to answer it.
I was very pleased to hear that you are all well.
I am well and hope that you are the same.
We were paid off the other day and I wrote a letter to father telling him to go to Rockland to get the money. You tell him so if he does not get my letter.
We expect to be paid again in the course of a few days. There is two months pay due us now. We shall get twenty dollars a month now.
I suppose that you see in the papers about so many deserters coming in a good deal of it is true most every morning that we go to water. We see from one to ten going over to headquarters. Some of them bring in their guns so they can sell them to our government.
I don’t know as I have such news to write this time. Tomorrow is the day Old Abe will take his seat for four more years. Bully for him! Don’t you say so?
I heard that they were going to fire up on the lines tomorrow. I suppose that it is in honor of Old Abe’s taking his seat.
I should like to see you very much. I was very pleased to get Fanny’s picture. Tell her that I will write to her in a few days.
I expect a letter tomorrow from some of you. Write as often as you can.

From your Brother,

Henry E. Howard

To

Mrs. E A Leach,
West Camden
Maine