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Camp in Pleasant Valley Harpers Ferry Oct. 26, 1862 Dear Friend ...ANDREW (STRONG) AND Jimmy (Hines) tent with me. Jimmy has been quite sick for 3 or 4 days and hasn’t been able to get out of the tent. The doctor says he has Rheumatic Fever. Orsen Coville thinks about getting him into some local farmers house until he gets better. They only charge a dollar a day which is quite cheap compared to other things around here. Eddy Fa has gotten well and come back to camp. Henry Hayes has got the rheumatism in on of his hips. You wrote you had 200 bushels of potatoes on the piece next to the road. Bring them down here where they sell them to the soldiers for $1.75 a bushel. Apples they sell for $1.00 a bushel. The settlers have fresh bread that they sell for 10 cents that is such that you get in Syracuse for 4 cents. When the army crackers get too buggy I get a loaf of bread, this happens every other day. I haven't seen any sweet potatoes since we came here. Most they raise around here is niggers and as they have all run away it is a desolate country. We all expected we were going over into Virginia. Most of the boys were disappointed to think we didn't go into the warmer country than this for I don't think the weather is any warmer in the winter than it is in Onondaga County. We had very warm weather when we first came here but for the past fortnight it hasn't been any too warm for comfort. Our tents are just large enough for three men to lay in. They are small wedge tents made of three pieces of cloth, each piece being about 5 ft square, two pieces on a side, and one end of the shanty is open to the weather. This leaves the house well ventilated. Sometimes when the air comes in it is most too strong so that we hang one of our blankets up before the door. This leaves us rather scant for bed clothes. I bought a large bundle of straw near by our camp so we had a fine straw bed with all but the tick. It has been raining hard all day but the shanty sheds the water first rate. I have just heard that we have received orders to be prepared to march at a moments notice. They may wait till it stops raining. The sooner they start the better it suits me. |
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