Silas Stepp to Eleanor Stepp

                        June 12 day .18.64

my dear wife  i rite you aline this morning to let you

now i am well  i hope this will come to hand and find

you all well and dooing well  drew got to camps nite

before last  i got your kind note you sent by him and

a habersack and 15 or 20 sweete cakes  i was truly glad to

get them  i wood of rote yesterday but i had to go on picket

i have Just got back to camps  i have Just receive your

kind note of June  it aint dated  it was maild the 7 day

i was truly glad to getet and to here you had grain enough

to doo you  i hope you will have enough to live on to not

suffer  i have bin verry oneasy about you  this last note

i got is a great satisfaction to mee  i dont want you to bea oneasy

about mee  i will doo the best ican  wee fair perty well

now  better then common   i am glad to here the people

is hauling corn for the wimmon that is suffering   above

all keap the wimmon and children from starven  all

is quiet along our lines  they are fiting in v a  you

here more about them then wee doo  i aint never got

now letter from ben yiet  you sed J wanted the belt          [his son Joseph]

i sent home  hee may have et and hee may have the

Six little yellow buttons to go on a Jacket  i have

Six more of another sort for billy  i got them cence

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cence drew left  any thing that is there you

want to use  use et as you think best  it is raining here

now  it raind on us all nite on post  wee go 4 miles to post  wee

Stay aday and nite at atime  our ridge ment pickets a

bout 15 miles long from nuce river to trent river

i will tel you alittle about the insects here  when wee are

on post wee sit on our horses all nite and fites the nats and

musketers   when we lay down on the ground to Sleep the

frogs is gumping over us  when wee go through the brush

wee get full of ticks  when wee go to eat wee cant

hardly keap the flys out of our mouth   you never saw

the like of such things in your life  i tel you my dear

you dont now how bad i want to see you  there is

now talk about here of concriptten anny more

men  i dont think that report is sow down to 16           [down to sixteen years of age]

truck looks perty well here  grain is about ripe here  i

have got apresent for you  i got et after drew left here

i expect you want to now what it is  i have got you

2 nice silver rings maid  i wood like to fetch them

and see how they fit  i wil have you and mary some more

maid  iwill send them the first chance ihave  i am afraid to send

them in a note  you mite never get them  if i get home i will

make your fingers shine with silver  i wish i had you by the

hand now  you dont now how i think about home and all of you

give me all the news  i hope to here from you soon

                                                SHS to ES   houdy Sweet pink