Letter written by Rush P. Cady, lieutenant in the 97th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Company K, to his grandmother from Camp of the 97th Reg. N.Y.V. near B. P. Land's, Virginia, January 29, 1863
Primary tabs
Camp of the 97th Reg. N.Y.V. (97th Regiment, New York Volunteers)
Near B.P. Land's (Belle Plain Landing), Va. (Virginia) (Belle Plains, Virginia) Jan. 29th. '63. Dear Grandmother (Palmer, Philena (Mrs.)) ,
It has been a beautiful
day, there being a great improvement in the
weather since yesterday, when it snowed
nearly all day, & the night before. When we
woke up yesterday morning, the Earth was cov-
ered with a snowy mantle, the first it
had worn in Va. (Virginia) (Virginia)
Since Nov. last, when we
were at Warrenton (Warrenton, Virginia)
.- It stormed hard during
the night, & the wind blew fiercely, piling the
snow in drifts; & during yesterday, the weather
was quite cold, raw & blustering. As our stove
would not burn, on account of the wind, on
the side of the tent, where it stood, we felt strong-
ly inclined to get permission of the Col. To go to a neigh-
boring house, at least until the weather moderated.
But we set up our stove on the other side of
the tent, & getting a good supply of wood cut up,
we kept warm & comfortable during the day.
Today the weather has been much milder,
the snow thawing rapidly. The roads are
in a horrible state. It is rather difficult
drawing even small loads, with 4 horse,
or 6 mule teams.- This makes it hard
to get wood enough, as it has to be brought
from some distance, what was near by,
(& there was considerable), having been cut.
The men's quarters are very uncomfortable
in cold, wet weather, as they have only thin
shelter tents, for the roof of their little log shanties,
& their fire places, dug in the ground,
frequently cave in, as the water soaks
through the sandy soil.
This forenoon, we had an Inspection,
which would have been yesterday, but for the
weather. Lieut. Rockwell (Rockwell (Lieutenant)) arrived today
bringing news from Rome (Rome, New York)
up to last Mon-
day.- Said that a Bill had already passed
Congress, to consolidate the old Regt.
When I wrote home, in regard to send-
ing a box by Express, I forgot to mention
some little articles that I would like
If the Package has not already been
made up & sent please tell our
folks to buy about 3 cans of oysters,
& a wash dish, & also to send, if they
choose, a can of catchup, & perhaps
a bottle of currant wine, or something
to make “Calafornia beer”, & a doz. Lem-
ons. I think sausage would keep
now, as it would come through
direct. Some fried cakes would
be very nice. You will know what
to send; but let there be a good quan-
tity of provisions, as they can be bought
so much cheaper there than here,
even including express charges; & they
would last us a good while.
I think of nothing else to write just at present,
& the mail bag will be taken to head-
quarters in a few minutes, so I must
close, but will write again soon.
Love to all the folks, Father, Mother,
Gustavus (Palmer, Gustavus M. (Captain)) , Ella (Cady, Ella) , Dannie (Cady, Daniel L.) & Willie (Cady, William G.) , & also to
friendly outsiders
P.S.
I shall want some more
Postage Stamps, having had
so many business & other letters to
write. Also send a package
of buff Envelopes & a quire of
letter paper- R. P. C. (Cady, Rush Palmer)
Part: of 4 
