Silas Stepp to Eleanor Stepp

                        May .21. 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

in due time and find you all well and dooing well

times is quiet along our lines   i rode 10 miles a

long them last nite and back this morning  i here

aheap of news from v a  the report here is our men

kild wonded and captured 40. or 50. thousand .31

ginerals  they dont say any thing about our los  iaint

much news to rite you  i rote aletter to you by

D burnet  i sent Some little things by him to

you  i sent my gloves and cap  i hammer  1 bottle

of powder  i belt and capbox and capts⁵  2 papers of

cotridge  Some indigo seede  one case knife  half

quire of paper and some envalopes and Some ons but

one dollars worth of stamps  2 pen points  i sode them

up in my habber sack  i hope hee fetch[ed] them to

you safe  i give him five dollars to take them

home  i sent alittle book to mary in aletter  tel

mee if she gotet  the last letter i got from you

was rote 12  i rote 2 to ben⁶ to swap for mee  

if he can  i will give my horse to boot if

i can get to Stay amoung the mountains this

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this Summer  there was 6 men and one lieutenant

detaild to go home after horses  D burnet A B ward  frank

citten  gim wheelon  rile powers  will allison  thare

to bea back in 25 days  Some of them as good as give

there Stock away to go home  let mee now how you are

getting along with your work and how the stock is dooing

and how the truck looks  tel mee how dock looks and

how his hoof is  let me now how mr. williams and

mr.melton is getting along with there work  it is a satisfaction

to mee to rite home and here from home  wee had a

prar meting in camps yisterday  the most of

people about here thinks peace will bea made this

Summer  ihope it will   i will bea glad to see the

time come sow i can come home and enjoy my

self with you as i onst did  i of ten think of the

pleasure wee onst saw to gether  i hope the time will

soon come that wee will meat again  rite what

they have done with crage  give mee all the news

wee fare as well as could bea espected  you now times

is hard  you nead not send mee any clothing by

burnet  i have got enough to doo mee this Summer

i must close  ihope to here from you soon houdy

[bottom line crossed through]

[in lower right margin]

SHS to ES

^5. percussion  caps for a firearm

^6. his brother-in-law, Ben Fortune, to take his place in the army