Envelope

Mrs. E. B. Masta
BartonVermont

Page

Camp Griffin Smith's DivisionJan 20th, 1862Dear sister Emeline,

Page 1

It is lonesome and dull tonight and I think I can do no better than write you while it rains, and is dark and muddy without.

Oh you have no idea away off in snowy Vermont of how deep the mud is here and no wonder for you have not that peculiar kind of soil that seems to produce mud more readily than any thing else and too no wonder that it is muddy. For last Monday night it snowed some two or three

inches and the next day was very cold and froze the ground to some little depth and the next day began to rain and rained most of the time since, making our encampment, tho very dry, a perfect mud hole and so we have nothing to do but sit in our tent and let it rain, only attending to the morning and evening Roll calls - unless it may be to go out on Picket, which two Capt., four Lieuts. and 200 men have to do once every five days. I went out last Tuesday morning and got back Wednesday 11 o'clock AM pretty tired too

Page 3

but then we learn to endure such things for we know we have got to, but they are the hardest part of the duties we have to perform while encamped as we are now - We are very comfortably situated now - we have our tent raised up some three ft. by placing stakes in the ground and filling in between them with green boughs making it tight and comfortable, then we have a floor over the ground making it warm and nice. You ought to see a chair I made yesterday out of a flour barrell - I took and sawed part of the staves off halfway down and then made a bottom to

Page 4

it and now I can sit as comfortable as not quite tho in my rocking chair in that well remembered chamber in Barton. It gets to be rather dull sometime when we think of how little we are really doing - and gloomy enough when we see how many are dying - six have died in the Regt. during the last week, one in our Co. who we enlisted after arriving at Brattleboro he was sick but a few days but with the Typhoid fever and proves fatal here most alway. Seven have died from our Co. and over forty from the Regt. There can be no advancement for sometime yet for it will be impossible to move in so miserable mud.

How are you getting along in settling up the Estate. Do not worry too much if every
thing does not go exactly to suit you. Be very careful of yourself now for your children's sake. Kiss Ida and the little one for me

Remember me to all friends
Your affect. brotherGeorge