Camp Kempers Ford
Sept 5th /63
My Dear Charlotte
I once more take my pen in hand to inform you that I am well and that I received yours of the 30th. I was glad to hear that you were all well. To day is Sadurday but I am afraid you will be disappointed in getting a letter as I dident send it untill Wensday morning. I am waiting verry patiently for that likeness but I guess it will come one of these days. I am on house guard now. I come on yesterday. I shal stay til Monday. We dont guard the property. We see that there dont no rebs go there and get back acrost the river. There is a woman lives here that has got a housbman doing picket duty not more than half a mile from the house. That is reather though. The weather is quite coole here now. Cold knights and most of the boys without blankets. They will draw some before long. I bought a map for you the other day. It took all the money I had but you can se where I have ben and when we march again you can look on the map and see where we went. You can see the long rout we took to Gettysburg. Start at Aquia Creek. From there to Staferd C H and to Dumfries in P K William Co and from there to Fairfax C H and from there to Leesburg by way of Trainsville and to Edwards Ferry. There we croosed into Maryland. You can see the road we went up by the Point of Rocks to Jeferson. There we went towards Sandy Hook most to Knoxville next morning countermarched and went to Fredricktown. We call it Fredrick Citty and from there we went a strait road to Ladiesburg Taneytown to Littles Town PA and there you will see the road we took to the bloodey field Gettysburg. When we came back we came the same road to Fredrickstown and from there to Mideltown Boonsboro and up near Williamsport where Lee crosed the river and from there we went through Antietam and so down to Sandyhook and then we crosed the river again into Harpers Ferry and went through Louden Vally. You will see Snickers Gap. We rested a fiew days and from there we went on through Uppervill where they had that hard caverly fight to Manassas Gap. We followed that railroad up most to Front Royal and then went back followed the railroad through Bull Run mountains wich is coled Therefore Gap. We went down most to Manases Junction and cut acrost to Catletts Station and from there to where we now are. I will make a mark verry near where we are. We get our supplies from Bealeton Station. I have got a letter that was writen by a captain in our corps. I will send it to you. He is in the first division. He might well say Gearys men stood like trees. If we hadent the rebs would broke the line and gaind the day. It seamed that they was determend to break through as Capt Smith sead. They would charge up to our breastworks with terrible yels but our bulets flew to thick. They couldent get through. You stated in your letter that you dident know what to do this winter. I told you in my last letter what I thought would be best. Let me know what you think about it. I think it will be about as cheap and less troubel for you if you can find a good place. I am verry glad Matie is better. I wonder if she would know me yet. You wanted to know if I got tierd reading your long letters. I can read your longest in a verry short time. You neadent be eney alarmed about that. The longer the better. I wish you would send me a little thread in your next letter if you have got it. I must bring my letter to a close. I will send this so you will get it next Sadurday. Kiss the children often for me. I send my love to you all.
Charles Engle to Charlotte Engle
Good buy
Sunday the 6
Dear Charlotte
I thought I would write a little more to day. It is verry pleasant day here and I suppose it is where you are. How I wish I was home with you to day. What a good time we would have if you feele as good as I do. It will soone be a year since we left Binghamton. The time has past away swift. The sumer is gone and I dont know that we have had eney onely by the heat. There is nothing looks here as it does north. We marched the most of the time. That makes it seam shorter. We everged 19 miles a day for 30 days. That is hard marching. I wish you could see the Army of the Potomac in motion and the whole train of wagoens and artilery. It is quite a site and then I wish you could see them formend in lines of battle infantry and artilery but the grandest site is to see the battle. It is a grand site but I hope we shant have the privelage of seeing it again. I hope the war will be setteld without much more fighting. If it haint setteld within six months I dont know as it will ever be but I am in hopes it wont last that lenth of time. I haint homesick but I am realy sick of this war and I guess you are to. I want to get home again to take care of my famely. I have ben away from home long enough and I guess you think so to. I belive you have it harder than I do. We have it hard when we march and fight but we dont have it so hard in camp. You neadent wory about me on acount of the cold winter. You are worse off than I am. My hart aches for you and the little children. I would give a good deal if you had a good place this winter. You must try and do the best you can to get one. You want a good warm place to stay this winter with the little ones but I dont see as I can do eneything for you but send you my wages. Them you shal have all I can posably spare.