20th Maine Infantry

Item LTR-69

Description

2 Pages written in period ink. Letter signed P. W. Jr and comes with stamped envelope addressed to his wife.

Stanton Hospital, Ward 1, Washington D.C., June 7th – 63

Dear Wife,

I received a letter from you last Thursday, in which I was glad to learn that you and the family were well.

I received two papers from Quincy last week, and from Enoch and from Rachel, in which she wrote that they were well, and that she would write me a letter soon. I am agoing to send the one that Rachel sent, to you and two more with it. The two smallest is for Rozilla, to save ‘til she gets so she can read them.

We have anything we want to read here. These small papers and tracts are brought in to us and distributed. I thought I would send mine to you to keep and give away. There is a free library, and reading room in the city, in which you can go into and read every day if you like, by signing your name, and come a member to the library. You can take out books to read by returning them in a fortnight. I have signed my name, so I can have a privilege to go there and read when I am a mind to. I tell you it is worth going in to see. The walls of the room are lined with pictures of the big men of the war and battles, and religious pictures. They have all sorts of papers. You can go and read the late news from the war, or anything else they have papers from all states and religious papers and tracts. I can have a Testament given me there, if I want one. I have got one that I picked up at Falmouth, where a regiment had left. It is just as good as a new one, for me to carry ‘round in my knapsack. It would get soiled in a short time.

My cold hangs on like a toothache. It has settled in my limbs, so it makes them rather lame. If I could have a cold without a cough, I could get along quite well with it. But, I have a bad cough with it. I am a doctoring for it now, so I hope I shall get over it before long.

I was glad you got that money I sent you in a letter, but the other money you will get soon. I have been and see the man. He said he did not send it ‘til about a week after I was there. He sent two or three other lots with mine. I guess there will be no trouble about it. Why I sent you a part in a letter was because the Regiment was not paid but four months, and there was two months due me. They pay at the hospital every two months, so I got two months pay. I shall not have got if I had been with the Regiment, so there is a little good luck