Laying Near Williamsport MD
July the 18 1863
Dear Charlotte
I wrote a fiew lines to you Sunday morning. I told you in that I had to go on picet. We went and I never done a harder days work. We skermished all day and it was very warm and we deployed and advanced. It was verry hard work to creep and skulk with our heavy load. I dident have a bulet come verry closed. The nearest was 3 or 4 feet. I have got so used to them I dont care much about them eneymore. We was relieved a little before dark and went to the regt. I was verry tired. I lay down and hoped I could rest untill morning but about one oclock we was routed up. I was verry dierd and sleepy but I was on my feet and readey in a short meter. We advanced two or three miles and lay down. I droped asleeped in a minuet. We slept untill day and the generls picked out their lines and we went to building breastworks. We worked all day hard. We have got the best kinds of works. We expected to fight here as much as could be. We lay here all knight and this forenoone expecting to fight every minuet but the rebs have all disappeard so our breastworks wont do us eney good. This is the fifth time we have built breastworks. The whole rebel army is acrost the river. I am verry sorry I was in hopes we could distroy the Army of Virginia. I dont know what they will do now. They are fighting now over on the other side. I heard we had a force over there of malitia but they wont amounst to much. They wont fight as we do. I suppose we will have to chace them up. I have made up my mind for a nother hard march and I guess we will get it. I am writing on the doubelquick for I expect to have to fall in every minute and chase our eney. I cant march with quite as good courage as I have but they will get harest untill they acrost the Rapahannoc but think what a march in the heat with our knapsacks and sixty rounds of catrages. It is the hardest kind of work to march and fight. We haint aloud to take off our cuterments and half the time we dont have a chance to cook our cup of coffe verry often. When we have time we haint aloud to build fire. I havent ben verry well for a fiew days. I have had the tooth ache and my jaw is so stif I cant get my teeth apart hardly far enough to get in a peice of hardtack. It makes it reather bad in a time like this but my tooth feels better and I guess my jaw will soone be. You wanted to know if I had my whiskers yet. I shaved them all off when we was at Aquia but I havent shaved since and I have got them again. We got a mail Sunday and there was a letter for me. You seamed to feele uneasy about me. I hope you got the first letter I wrote after the battle. It is a wonder our regt wasent all killed or taken prisoners Thursday knight when the rebs flanked us. I dont see how so meney escape where the bulets fly so thick. I can hear them whiz all the time. I dream of home verry often. Dream I am home and then wake up and find myself a good wais from there. I have got so I can stand eney thing. It has ben quite wet and rainy for some time. I can lay down eney where and sleep in the rain. We cant put up our tents much of the time as we are moveing every little while and all times at knight. You musent wory about me. I am willing to endure it all if I can onely come out alive to return home once more with you. I want to see you all espeshly the baby but I cant and so there is no use woring about it but I want all the letters you can write. It is a great comfort to me to read your letters while so far from home and in a time of troubel. I send my love to you all. So good buy.
Charles