Henry A. Smith to Family
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I ricieved your letter directed to W three days after you wrote it and the one
directed to Anapolis two days after you wrote it I should written before but could
not get any Postage stamps I am sorry to hear that Bill and Mike have such hard times
cuting wood We shall be paid now in a day or two and I will try to make it a little
easier for them I saw a great ma- ny pretty places on the way I will tell you now
about the grand reception and dinner we had in Ny city when we got into the city it
was Sunday morning we unloaded our horses and rode them up about two miles into the
city and put them into
some stables and we were marched down to an old
house of ref uge and kept there untill we left the city and as for the dinner we had
some hard Bread salt meat and coffee. It was almost dark when we went thro ugh Newark
though we was a good many people and were cheered often the Captain has no thanks to
make out an order for you to draw my state pay but as soon as he gets some I will
have one made out and send it home We are going to be paid in Treasury notes then I
suppose are safe to send in a letter these are a fiew things that I want which I
could not get here without paying a great price and I guess I will have you send me
some things in a box but not untill we are paid and I send some money home Our camp
here is Comfortable and the weather now is
about the same as in Vermont
at the seting in of winter The camp is about two miles from the city on a level piece
of ground We have been raising the tents about three feet by diging a ditch around
the tent and seting in posts then banking up on the out side and seting the tent on
top the posts it makes more room a is some warmer The horses had enough hay to eat in
washington and enough grain The regiment lost tw twenty one horses since we left
Burlington one died in the cars and another jumped out into the Hudson river while
the cars were moving at the rate of 40 miles an hour the rest of the horses died in
W. in the mud and the men had good Bread and fresh beef rice Potatoes sugar coffee
and beans to eat so you cant tell much by
what you hear in see
in the papers you may look for some money in my next letter news just came in that
the Vermont Brigade is coming into Camp here in a fiew days I will tell you what kind
of a box I want and a list of the things I want you to send I want a box about a foot
and a half wide 2 feet long and 10 inches deep. stoutly nailed and made of thee quar
ters of an inch boards of one inch I want one flanel shirt get my boots taped and put
them in and 25 onions some cheese and a jug of cider jug to hold two quarts and a
bunch of envelopes I have paper enough put in what other victuals you please. have
three rows of nails put in the top of the boots and 3 in the heel
from your sonHenry A Smith