Near Atlanta GA
August the 18/64
Dear Wife
I will try and write a few lines in answer to yours of the 6th. I was verry glad to hear from you once more and that you were all well. You are having a great deal of troubel about me since them hard fights. I was verry luckey to come out unhurt where there was so meney killed and wounded. As you say it is almost a merical. I dont see how as meney escape unhurt where the lead and iron fly so thick and the rebs had a cross fire on us to each time and we had no breastworks. So you can see we was in a pretty hot place. The rebels opend all their guns this morning all along the lines but they are quiet again now. I think you will hear some news from this army before long. I hope it will be good news. We havent got our pay yet. I dont know what to do. I havent got but two sheets of paper left and I couldent buy eney here if I had money. I hate to ask you for it but I shal have to as not write if you can raise money enough to buy some you may and send it to me. You can send a quire of paper and a package of envelopes for four cents if you do them up in a peice of brown paper. Some that is stroung and you mustent seal it. If you do it will cost more. Tie a string around them. That is the way some of the boys have paper come. You say John D is getting cunning. I want to see him the worst way. It dont seam posable that he is large enough to run alone and out dors to. It seams to me he must be small yet. The time seams so short. He must be pretty smart. If nothing happens he will be quite a boy when my time is out. It will soone be two years since we came out. We drew soft bread yesterday. I guess we will get soft bread part of the time while we are here. We dont get eney pork now for two weaks. We drew two days of ham and the rest will be fresh beef. There is a great meney sick with the scurvy and so much grease haint good. Capt Sweet went to the hospitable last night with scurvy. Spoor went some time ago. His legs was black clear to his knees. It is an awfull dissease. They have great sores worse than eney bile. The heat and long campaign and no vegatables is what causes it. I wash all over every day and I think it is as good of thing as I can do. I must close. Write often. Good buy dear Charlotte.
Chas Engle