Camp GriffinDec 15. /61My darling Wife,

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I rec’d two good letters from you to night. Give my regards to Mollie, I hope shall be able to see her but hardly dare hope. It will probably be difficult to obtain leave of absence without a strong reason. To see ones wife seems to me strong enough, but it would apply to too many cases. If they knew what a splendid one I have got I reckon they would let me go. I should so like to see you my sweet love. Your letter was the first intimation I had ever rec’d that the people desire to cut down our pay. If the country need it I am ready to contribute every dime of my pay to carry on the war, but I enlisted as a private & did not know but I should have to carry the musket for three years, nor did I know the salery of any officer but now that others have seen fit to give me an office I cant say that I admire having my patriotism experimented upon. It is true the pay is fair, but it is not more than men fit to fill the several offices, ought to have, & so far as my acquaintance goes not equal to the income of the home occupations of a majority of the officers here. Of the officers of my own rank in the Vt brigade I am the only instance where the salary is equal to that of the

same men at home, laying aside all the risk & sacrifice; and my own case can hardly be considered an exception for I had scarcely begun life. If the country thinks there are more patriotic men than those who first [sprang] into the breach, we will resign & give them a chance, without the trouble of experiments or tests of patriotism. I judge from appearances that there are some men in Congress & out of it who are very dangerous, if not vile traitors, for they seem inclined to do everything to make the war unpopular & aggravate the army by their unwarrantable interferences. I sometimes almost tremble lest they may succeed in some of their measures that will disgust the army if not make it clamor for justice. Large armies are always dangerous & necessity for them should be deprecated but when it exists & the army is raised, at least a reasonable degree of caution should be practiced in managing it. You had better not give too much reliance to what you hear of N.H. regt’s or officers for I dare say 99 out of a 100 of the stories are false. I know it is so of us.

Well I reckon you will not consider this much of a love letter. I’ll try to make up next time. I must take a bath & go to bed.

Yr fond husbandW. G. Veazey

Gov. Fairbanks was here yesterday.

A young man by the name of Reed fr Nashua called on me this eve.