40th Massachusetts Infantry - Wounded at Olustee, FL

Item LTR-7919

Description

Original Civil War soldier's letter. 4 pages, written in period ink.


Miner’s Hill, Virginia
November 14, 1862

Dear Aunt,

I received your letter last night. And was glad to hear from you. I am well as usual. I was glad that you wrote to me. Because I wanted to. Hear from you and to hear that you was well and was in good spirits. This life is not quite so hard as I thought it was before I left home. The hardest part of it is sleeping on the ground. It is not quite so easy as a feather bed to sleep on.

We are in a pretty place to camp. It is right between two hills, about 8 miles from the City of W., and about a mile from Falls Church. It is a small place about as large. Shepard Factory and it is the prettiest place that I have seen since I came out here.

I have not been sick a bit yet. But have had an awful abscess on my face and it still lingers on my face. And I do not know but will it always be on my face. But I am in hopes that it will go off. We have such mean doctors out here that they will kill a fellow if we take their medicine. I like camp life very much. Better than I thought I should. We live so well it is so that we have to eat salt junk and hard bread every meal. It is not changed. I had a box come from home and when I opened it, it looked so good. I thought that I could eat it all for one meal. When I got it opened it made me feel a little homesick. But I got over it. How does William Allen like it, as well one day, if he does, he don’t like it very well. It is reported that we are going to Texas in Banks’ Division. I hope it is so.

We had an awful snow last week here. It is ankle deep. Have you had any such snow storms as that at home? We have good places to write here. We sit down on our knees and take a piece of a board and set it up slanting and that is the way I wrote to you. So if you can’t read this, I will try to write it better next time. But I must come to a close now because it is time to drill.

Give my love to Emma and Maria and the Brannon boys and remember to keep the largest share for yourself.

Excuse all mistake and the writing and receive this from your nephew,

Edwin A. Lane

Please direct the same as before.

Edwin A. Lane