Silas Stepp to Eleanor Stepp

                        June  first day .18.64

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

am well  i receive your verry kind note yisterday of the

26  i was truly glad to here from you and here you was

all well  i have now news to rite you  all is quiet along our

lines  there was a yankey come to us the other day from newbern 

S[e]veral has come to us cence wee have bin here  they are runing

away as well as our men  i am verry Sorry to here the

things wee sent by D burnet is lost  i hope you will

get them  it is verry uncertain about getting them  mee and

the allisons boys paid drew $40 dollars before hee started

to take them home  i think you had had better have the

barn field corn thind out to one grain in ahill and all

the rest in the porest spots  it will year better  iam       [year = ear]

afraid you put in more then you can tend well  i

wood bea som glad if i was there to help you  i rote

you along note when wee got back from newbern  i

aint got now ancer fromet yiet  i have rote 2 to your

fother i have got now ancer from  i dont now what is

the reason of it  hee mite of never got them  i have

bin looking for one from him 2 or 3 weeks  wee are fair

ing as well now as could bea expected  that aint

very good  iexpect wee fair as well as any soldiers does

[page 2]

i never got any ancer from the one had the picture in

if ben comes to Swap for mee after hee Starts dont rite

any more tel you now whither i come or not  if i get

away i dont want any more of your letters to come

to the command  if hee dont come rite on  my dear i often

think of you  tel mee if you have got any young calves

and if you get milk enough and if you have many young

chickens  i want to come home and help you to eat some  i

dont now whither that ever will bea or not  i hope it will

<soon?>  rite if my name is in the henderson times yiet  ihave

talk to[Capt.] folk tuice about et  hee sed hee would have it Stopt

matt goodson is atrying now to get afurlow to come home  hee

has bin grunting ever cence wee got back from newbern

hee aint done now duty cence  hee looks well and eats

harty  my dear dont grieve because people wont doo nothing

for you  maby i will get back some time  you now how

i had to doo las winter  thatis forgot now i recon  it

appears to me that inever wanted to see you worse in my

life then i doo now  if inever see you any more on this

earth  ihope to meat you in heaven whare there will bea no more

parting of friends nor sickness nor trials nor trouble felt

nor feard any more  this is Just a world of trouble and