Camp Aquia Creek
Sunday May the 31 1863
My Dear Wife
I once more take my pen in hand to write a fiew lines to you to let you know that I am well and that I got your letter yesterday. I was verry glad to hear that you were all well. I hope you and the children will have good health whilst I am gone for you have it hard enough at the best. You have it a great deal harder than I do but you must try and comford your self all you can and not wory about me. Dont borrow troubel. It comes fast enough without. James Dore and I are in the woods. We have got a kittle of beans a cooking and I am writing this and when I get my letter wrote I shal write one for Jim while he ceeps the pork and beans boiling. I wish you had them so you could bake them for us and I think they would taste better if I could be there with you to eat them. We have soft bread most every day. Beef two days out of a weak ant pork the rest of the time. It is verry windy day to day and verry dusty. It hasent rained since the battle. We have got to work again. We are building another fort and choping down woods. I guess the next battle will be fought on this side of the river. I hope so. If we have got to fight attole I would reather they would come on this side than for us to go on their side. The rebels have got bateries planted at Kelleys Ford where we crosed when we went to Chancellorville and to the United States Ford. I dont think we could cross as easy as we did before if we have to go and it will bother them to get on this side. I wish they would let us fight it out and then them that are alive can go home with their friends and be free once more. I am in a hurry to get with my famely again. Erastus has got home. I hope he will get over his deafness and get tough again. I guess it wont be my luck to get my discharge until the war is over and I want it to be before I go home. I want to ceep my health and see this awful war setteld and I hope it will soone be for I want to go home. I wish you would send me a little black thread in your next letter. I have got to mend some and I havent got eney thread. I will have to close for this time. I guess we will get our pay this weak and then I will write again. Write as often as you can. It does me a great deal of good to hear from home. Give my love to Rast and his famely and to the rest of our folks. Dont forget to ciss the babies for me. How I would like to see them. I send my love to you. No more so good buy.
From Charles Engle to Charlotte Engle
Good buy Charlotte
My love to you. This is all I can do.
Get mother a new dress. I know she has earned forty dreses. I hope I will get pay so you can have some more money.