Headquarters 8th Regt Conn Vols Near Petersburg va Aug 12 64 Dear Sister

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I now take this opertunity to answer your kind and most welcom letter that I received last night and was glad to hear that you wer well my health is good this summer

There is not much news here now but picket fireing and an artillery duel most every day there was pretty sharp fireing for 2 hours this morning but has pretty much stoped now we are strengthing the works here now they are building a fort now of 16 guns

I suppose Hiram wrote you about the blowing up of the Rebs fort and getting repulsed if he did not you have seen it in the papers there was some mismanagement direct as before How are you 500,000 you may think it is to bad but it is what I like to see let every one have a chance to see then they will know how shoot and shell sounds I have not herd from Theodore in a long time he was in Washington driving team the last I herd from him
The weather is vary warm and dry here now a days and no signs of rain

some wherse for it was a well laid plan and worked well untill that morning according to their Rebs accounts there was but 3 Division or about 1 A.C. and we had 4 Corps the 2nd 5th 9th 18th and had poseshion of their works at one time and I will not say could not hold them for we could if they had done as they had aughto they sent in 2 or three Divisions and carried the works and then let them be drove back when we had 13 more Divisions laying back in reserv doing nothing would it not of been better to sent in one half of us and carried their works and drove them across the Appamatox in doing so we would not of lost ½ of of the men that we did and taken prisoners and guns for they could not get them all across apart of them would have been cut off I think it is jeliousey between the Generalls one is affraid that he will do something

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that the other will get praise for or give them a chance to do something more than they can do if they would work to gather this war would have been brought to a close a long time ago but as it is I cannot see when it will be I think that them that enlist now will have a chance to stay their time out but I hope not some think that a new President will do something toward setling this war

if I have good luck enough to get through 10 months more I think that war will not trouble me much for a while I have been through 12 or 13 fights and have never got hurt yet and there is no reason why I can not get through a dozen more I was in a good place to see that fort go up it was a splendid sight I have been reading over what I have wrote and do not find any thing vary

interesting [and] I dont believe that you can so I will not say any thing more about it onley that it was the shamefullest thing that I have seen or herd of since I have been out

H H Barton went to the Hospital last saturday sick and I have not herd from him since I got a letter from Mother yesterday she said that the folks wer all well there and that uncle Jock Eliott was dead he died in S S Spau lding barroom drunk

Henry was at city point in the Hospital sick the 5th cavellry has gone to Wash- ington but I do not know whether he went or not Orvill More was down here the day before they left his time is out in about a month he said that Henry More was coming home this summer my sheet is nearley full and I cannot think of any thing more and I guess that it is all that you will care about reading so Good By give my respect to all and write as soon as conveneant to your affectionate brother

Lyman

Melissa