Camp Convalisent [sic]

June 24th 1863

Got her letter, sorry he was the cause of so much anxiety by not writing her sooner but he did write twice and thinks she should have gotten the letters sooner. “I have been looking for a telegram since Monday but as yet none has come I think if you send one I might get Home to day I have been playing with a little girl of Idas age here in Camp & she thinks a great deal of me She puts me in mind of Ida so much I could hardley [sic] leave her Poor Sweet little Ida How bad I want to see here oh Dear Clara god knows how much I think of you & would give all & Everything to see you all again but it seems every time there is a shadow of hope to get Home something appears before if if you haven’t telegraphed to me yet do so now & see what can be made out of it I am willing to run the risk be it ever so great.”

Fighting in camp last Sunday sounded awful with the roar of artillery all the time. Wonders why don’t “some of our folks” write. Fletch feels bad too because he doesn’t hear from his folks “oftener”. “Dear Clara if you could see the way the Boys crowd around the post office to hear from home you wouldn’t wonder at our wanting to hear from home”. Some of the poor soldiers haven’t gotten any letters since they got there and to see their looks when they leave the post office empty handed could almost make you cry. “Some will swear & some will go off by themselves & have a cry over it & some will say that they will give ten dollars for a letter they don’t care whether it comes from home or not so you see Dear Clara what Soldiers thinks of getting a letter.”

He seems to have trouble with one of his ears. Since he was taken prisoner he has had a pretty hard cold and he guesses it settled there. He can hardly hear out of it but guesses it will get better. Lengthy closing. “P.S. I met with a pretty narrow escape the other night I woke up in the morning with a pin in my mouth how it came there is more than I can tell good night Dear Clara From your true Pete”