Silas Stepp to Eleanor Stepp

                    May 14.day. 18.64

my dear wife i rite you a line this evening to let

you now i receive your kind letter yisterday  i was

on post  ihave got to camps now  it was rote the 6

iwas truly glad to here from you and here you was

well  it found me well  this leaves mee well  i

hope this will find you all well and dooing well

ihave Just got one from B. F. Fortune   i am

glad to now you are all well  i cant tell yiet

about things  hee rote about how it will bea  i will

come if i can  all is quiet on our lines now  i supose

thare fiting aheap in va now  wee fair as well

now as could bea expected  wee git bread enough and

alittle meat  i aint much to rite this time  i tel

you i want to see you and the children  you dont now

how bad  i am glad to now you are geting along well with

your work  let mee now if you have your wool carded

yiet and what you have done with your beef hide and

how the clover looks and how many lambs you have

my horse looks tolerable well  hee dont look as well as hee

did when ileft home  this hard rade wee had hurt

him some  the health of our ridge is perty good now

as far as i now  wee are scaterd very bad now  over    [over = turn the page over]

[page 2]

iwill send mary alittle book i got in the fort wee

tuck  they cauld the fort couaton   i will send it in

a envalop  itel you my dear iam tired of Staying here

and living the way wee doo  i am tired of sleeping

among a gang of men on the ground like hogs  itel

you now [= no] place is like home with mee  the talk here is

that peace will bea maid this summer  i hope it may

bea sow  if i could see you i could tel you more then i

can rite  i am in good health but i am get ing

verry lean  i nead little things to eat to ceap up my

flesh but i cant get them here  i went 5 miles

yisterday to get a mes[s] of cale  i think father mite rite to        [cale = kale]

mee  i have got 3 or 4 from your father  i have ansered

all i got from him  it is asatisfaction to mee to get

aletter from any of my friends  if they dont rite

to me i dont expect to rite much to them  wee pay

e and 10 dollars aquire⁴  for paper  4.5. and 6 for envalops

wee have fine growing wether now  iwill doo the best

ican  you must doo the same  iw ill close by

saying ihope to here from you soon  irote to you

8 of april  you aint sed any thing about get ing

et  i sent you the picture of my hand in et 

iwill close  houdy my loveing wife  direct as

   S. H. Stepp to Eleanor Stepp               before

⁴ a quire of paper is 24 or 25 sheets