Headquarters Harlands Brigade 8th Regt Conn Vols Near Portsmouth Va Jan 31st 1864 Dear Sister

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I now take this opertunity to answer your most welcom and long looked for letter and had about given up getting one when at last it came and I was vary glad to hear from you once more and glad to hear that you wer well my health is the best it has been for the last six or eight months and hope these few and miserable lines will finde you enjoying the same blessing for good health is surely a blessing I never new how to prize it untill now always had good health untill the past sum- mer one has to be tougher than Salt Horse to stand it in the army

I intended to have come over there to see you but I did not feel able I was vary sorry that I could Give my respects to all and write soon to your affectionate brother
L.A. Barton Co K
M.M. Barton Portsmouth Va 8 C VWe have had vary pleasant weather for the last two weeks but it looks now as if we wer a going to have a spell of weather as the old wo man said but I mean bad weather take me as I mean not as I say wont youWhen you get sick and tired of trying to read this put it by and write to me and try it again and I will try and do better next time not write so much and write it better

not come over there and go to Moriah and West port I could of staid at home thirty days longer than I did but where is a soldiers place in the field or at home I felt it my duty to return to my regt as soon as I could I could of gone into the New Haven Hospital and staid all winter but that was not my place as long as I could do duty I did not think that I looked eno- ugh like any body so that one could tell that I was related to any one Theodore and my self wer on the boat we came as far as Baltimore together I received a letter from Almira the other day saying that George Beers died New years day also that aunt Mary was sick a bead and that O More was at home he is a proftible soldier if we had five or six hundred thousand like him I think we could whip the rebs clear into the northern states and perhaps farther North well perhaps it would be a good plan get them up there and freeze them to death but perhaps a gain they would not freeze no more than we would roast down South but he can tell bigg enough stories to make it up but some one must do his duty if he is not there to do it he hadd better not get taken as a diserter for they had just as lives shoot a felow as not now a days I wont write any more you see if I do now

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there is one more sentenced to be shot in this Regt for disertion he left soon after the battle of antetem She said that Uncle Albert had been out to hog back She said that Robert Hall that use to be in the Union Store was married to to Emily Allen but the poor thing slept with her mother the first night O excuse me I fer got that you wer an old maid well you had no business to be when long Johns are plenty a great deal to to plenty I suppose you think I should of thought that you mite mended his socks when he took so much pains to spat round with his toes sticking out but suppose you could not take the hint that he wanted a woman to mend them well I dont blame you I like soft things but he is most to soft Most all of our Regt has rein listed and gone home on a furlow of thirty days I am doing the cooking now there is onely 15 of us in the Co they have got the smallpox in Ports mouth there was one carried away from this regt with it a day before yesterday I am sorry that Jed has got onto hogback it was bad eno ught before and it will not be any better now a poor plan Ellens going to Lukes I think but it is none of my buis ness I suppose I am vary glad that little Jo Spaulding So good by for this time I think the sheet is full or fool

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has enlisted he is the onely Spaulding that I know of enlisting I think it a disgrace where there is so many that there will not onely one enlist I was in hopes they would draft and draft Americus and Lafaett they are a disgrace to Crownpoint Jed Ehtte is a man by the [set] of them for he did enlist Charles Wright is at home sick did they fetch Robert Mores body home they wer talking about it when I was there where was Hiram when you last herd from him I have not herd from him since I came to the Regt There is one thing that I would do if I was in your place if you do not that is when you write to Jane send her a stamp for I dont think Dave likes to pay postage vary well and she would write oftener if she could get the stamps I see enough when I was there to satisfy me on that point you wanted to know how I spent Christmas and New years well I did not spend Christmas at all I let it go by on its own hoofs and I will send you a meran- da of January up to the 15 so you can see how 15 days of the New year went along and if you want to know how any more of it went a long I will send it to you if write often enough so to not have to much to send to a time I think I will draw this poor letter to a close for it is betwixt 10 and 11 and I have to write to one of my tent mates that is home on a furlow reinlisted and reinlisted agan for he got married since he went home I think this a queer letter and queerly put
together Well do tell here is a little strip that is not filled up I think it is now aint it

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Memoranda For January
Union 1864 Forever
Friday January
1st

Cloudy and warm in the morning but clear and cold and hard winds towards night. The 15th Conn Vols had a foot race wheelbarrow race sack raced greased pig and a free fight. Our rations wer for Breakfast Salt horse and coffee Dinner pork and turnup supper pork & coffee

2nd
Clear and cold hard winds on Guard Breakfast pork and coffee Dinner Salt Hors and potatoes supper Salt Hors and coffee

3rd
Clear and cold Breakfast Salt Horse & coffee Dinner potato and onion soup Supper fresh beef coffee 9 oc Co inspection 11oc Doctors inspection

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Monday 4th
Cloudy and some rain detailed to work on the road Breakfast Salt Horse and coffee dinner Salt Horse supper coffee. Co Drill

Tuesday 5th
Cloudy and some rain on guard down in the woods Breakfast Salt Horse and coffee Dinner Hors and potatoes supper pork coffee Co drill

Wednesday 6th
Cloudy and cold signs of snow break fast fresh meat coffee dinner pork supper Salt Horse and coffee expect to get paid tomorow Co drill forenoon Batallion afternoon

Thursday 7th
Cloudy and cold winds some snow last night Breakfast Salt Horse and coffee Dinner Salt Hors potatoes Supp- er coffee Co received potatoes appels turnups cabbage Walnuts vinegar from the soldiers relief Bridgport Conn

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Friday 8th
Cloudy and cold winds one inch of snow last night Breakfast Salt Horse coffee Dinner fresh beef potatoes Supper turnups potatoes coffee undres perade

Saturday 9th
Clear and cold Breakfast fresh beef coffee Dinner Hors Salt potatoes turnups Supper Salt Horse coffee undress Perade

Sunday 10th
Clear in the morning but clouded up before night Some wind Breakf- ast Salt Horse coffee Dinner fresh beef potatoes turnups Supper coffee reinlisted men got their pay 200 dollars

Monday 11th
Clear and pleasant reinlisted men leave for Conn 15th officers take comand of camp breakfast Salt Horse coffee Dinner fresh meat soup Supper Salt Horse coffee New cook

Tuesday 12th
Cloudy and signs of a storm on guard

Breakfast Salt Horse coffee Dinner Bean Soup Supper pork coffee

Wednesday 13th
Cloudy and some rain in the afternoon picket for deep creek Rigimental inspection at 10 Oclock Breakfast fresh beef coffee dinner fresh beef soup Supper coffee

Thursday 14th
Cloudy and heavy fog some rain in the afternoon went to Portsmouth and Norfolk after some of the boys that left camp with out leave got seven Breakfast fresh beef coffee Dinner Hash took one days rations Staid in an old barracks all night with out any blankets

Friday 15th
Cloudy in the morning but cleared off before noon Started for camp about noon Supper coffee fresh Beef

If you want any more of this I will try and give you a detail of the Salt Horse Corned Beef and coffee that we have

M. M. Barton