Camp near "Catletts Station" Va. Oct 24th 1863 My good darling wife

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At last we have got settled down, for a few days at least and I am fixing up a good "Log Cabin" The "third Corps" are camped around in the vicinity of this Station and are very busily at work fixing up the Rail Road. The "Rebs" completely destroyed the road from a little beyond "Bristow Station" down to the Rappahannock river. They took up every "Tie", piled them in heaps of about a dozen, then put the "Rails" on top of them and set them on fire, which warps the rails all out of shape and renders them perfectly useless until they can be worked over again. They also of course burned all the Bridges. They did not get quite down to "Manassas Junction, so the road to "Thuroughfare Gap" was in good order and the cars run up as far as Gainsville". The 2nd and 6th Corps are laying in the vicinity of Warrenton

and get their "supplies" from "Gainsville" We get ours from "Bristow". They will get the road in running order in about a week to this Station. "Army Head Quarters" are at Warrenton now. As far as I can learn the "Rebs" are all on the other side of the "Rappahannock". Last night it commenced raining and today is a cold drizely rainy day, and if it hold so all day as it now bids fair to, Artillery can not moove for several day, and by that time it will be to late I think for the Army of the Patomac to make another Campaign this winter, so the chances are very good that the 3rd Corps will winter where we are now. That is the prevailing opinion here now among the "big officers" We have one hundred men from our Regt. working on the R.R. The boys are fixing up their camp, and building "fire- places" and think we are settled. I hope they will not be disapointed, for the have had quite a hard campaign since we left Poolsville last June.

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We have passed through many exciting scenes, but amongst it all with Battles just in front, and in rear of us, we have still been the "lucky tenth" (as the boys say) and have not lost a man yet by the bullet. We have had a few prisoners taken on the last march and one man wounded but is was only because they straggled away from the Regt. and mixed in with others. but I cannot write you all of these "long stories" but will wait to tell them around the "home fireside", and I think now my chance will come soon, the way things look. Oh! how I do want to see you all. Capt Dill arrived safe and sound last night, and we were all very glad to see him. He says you were looking finely. I had a good long visit with him, and got all the Waterbury news. He thinks John is making lots of money. I expect a good long letter from you to day. I got a good letter from John last night as long as we stay here I can write you again most every day.

As ever Yours William.