Dear Lucinda,

I seat myself this morning to write you a few lines which leaves me enjoying the best of health except a cold. I received your letter yesterday dated 25 of May which I read with the greatest of pleasure and was very glad to hear from you and the children and that you were enjoying good health.

I have nothing strange or anything of importance to write to you. We had some excitement here the first of this week but all is quiet at this time. We even run out some eight or nine miles to Hoover's Gap to mette the Yankeys but they did not make their appearance so we staid two nights and one day and returned to our camp. When we first went out I was confident we would have a fight but did not which I was very glad we did not as I am in hopes thare will not be any more fighting up here. We have sent a good many troops to Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Lucienda today was a week ago Cally Moorer and some others from this camp were sent two and half miles out in the country to guard some beef cattle and he took fever out thare and was not able to walk back to camps and Monday morning I borrowed Col. Lampley's horse and went after him and found him very sick but was able to ride to camps and he had been very sicke with Pneumonia. This morning very early I went in town and assisted in getting him on the cars to go to Chattanooga Hospital where he will be better cared for than this place as they have only a temporary concern here for the accomodation of sick soldiers.

The rest of the boys are all tolerable well except Bill Strickland. The physicians says they can't find any thing wrong with him. I think he is grieving himself about home but thare is no use in that for it will never get him home. He does not eat but very little and not more than once a day if that he has fallen off a great deal and looks very bad indeed.

Well Lucinda I must tell you something tht will rather get you I think. One day this week I was Sargeant of the guards and was sent to Wartrace about two hundred yards from our camps to guard some of our own men for bad conduct desertion and so on. And among them was a good looking girl dressed in soldiers clothing. She looks a good deal like some fair skin boy and curses like a sailor. She calls her name Charly Smith and says she belongs to a Arkansas Regiment and has been in several Battles and always comes out safe. She was a regular Blackguard and gambles. She played cares all the time in the guard house with other prisoners in thare with her. She looks to be eighteen or twenty years of age and says intends going to her Regiment or die. The next night after I left thare she got out of the guard house and had made her escape with one other prisoner and he was from Arkansas. It made me feel very bad to see a woman under arrest. I don't know upon what grounds they arrested her.

Lucinda - Gabe Moore never has wrote me. I have not heard from any of them in two months though I have wrote them and don't think I shall write any more until I hear from them again.

I made Ulrica a ring yesterday and intend making Bettie one next week and send them to you if I have a chance so they can get them. How would you like to have a collar button made like a shirt botton. I think it would look well. I will sent Ulrica's ring in this letter and keep it for her until you have a chance to send it to her.

Lucinda while I think of it I want you to send me some of little Randolph's hair. I dream of him often. I got a letter from Bill Hagood yesterday and he says Randolph is very fat and that I would not know him but the other children has not changed but very little. He says we have a good prospect for a crop and I hope you have had a good rain we had two splendid rains here this week and looks favorable for more. It has been fine weather here on the wheat crops and the Citizens says this rain come just in the right time to make it fine.

Lucinda yesterday twelve months ago I left home to go back to Auburn Alabama you recolect I left on Saturday morning after breakfast and went to Montgomery that day it seems a long time to me though time passes off briskly in camps for the reasons that our minds are pretty well engaged all the time on something we have to do. One day when we are idle we are thinking what is to be done the next day.

I read Bob's letter and from all accounts they must have had a terrible time of it and very glad that they come out as light as they. I was afeared that some of them was killed and I am very anxious to hear how Randolph and the boys from that company came out as I expect they were engaged in the fight at Vicksburg. The papers state that to be the greatest battle ever fought during this War. I suppose our men can hardly stay in side of ther breastworks the Yankeys smelt so bad that was left dead on the field of Battle.