Letter written by Henry Welch, corporal in the 123rd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Company K, to his uncle and aunt from Camp near Kelly's Ford, Virginia, September 5, 1863
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WASHINGTOND. C. (District of Columbia) (Washington, District of
Columbia)
[date
unclear]
Mr.
Franklin. Tanner (Tanner,
Franklin) .
South. Granville (South Granville).
Washington.
Co..
N.Y. (New York) (South Granville, New
York)
(Washington County, New York)
Camp, near, Kelly's Ford,
Verginia (Virginia) (Kelly's Ford, Virginia) .
Sept. 5th. 1863, Dear Uncle (Tanner, Franklin) and Aunt (Tanner, Franklin (Mrs., Polly C.)) (Tanner, Polly C. (Mrs. Franklin Tanner)) .
I received
your letter dated August 30th
last evening. I was very glad
to hear from you
and to hear
that you were in usual health
as well as the rest of
my
friend's up that way, I hardly
know what to write that will
be
interesting to you. I may
as well tell you that I well
and enjoying
myself tolerably
well, we are living much better
now days than when we
first
came to our present camping ground,
our ration's now consist of
meal
potatoes dried apples hardtack
soft bread bean's coffee sugar
fresh beef and pork, we do not
get these articles in very large
quanites (quantities) but we manage to
live very well, when we were
on our last campaign and
for awhile (a while) after we had stoped (stopped)
they kept us on hardtack and
pork I thought shurely (surely) we
should all starve, but we are
living better now and are all
getting fat again, perhaps you
would like to know I pass
my time off now day's, well
I go on picket once every eight
day's and on guard about
as often. we do patrol duty
about one day out ten
which is to scout over the
country to pick up our
drafted men that are
trying to desert, when
not on duty we drill
two hour's each day. its not
very hard duty, we are having
pretty easy times, my spare
time I write letter's on the
whole I manage to keep
pretty busy, rebel deserters
continue to come to our
lines yesterday three came
in one was a Lieutenent (lieutenant)
they brought their horses
and equipments all with
them, the deserters are
mostly North Carolinaean's (Carolinians)
they all say that the
southern army are sick of
the war and that they
have seen all the fighting
want to see, we tell them
that their army will be
more sick of the war before
we get through with them,
and if there is any in
their army that has not
seen fighting enough we
will give them enough
in the next battle,
I would like to be up there
and attend the fair with
you but as I cannot I will
content myself by thinking
that the time will soon be
when I will have a chance
to make up for such thing's
whichI have lost while a
soldiering. I do think of anything
more to write at present so I will
close by sending my love to
you, give my respects to all
enquireing (enquiring) friends, write soon from Henry (Welch, Henry)
Part: of 6 
