#33

Camp On the Rapidan Near

Raccoon Ford Va. Sept 19^th 1863

Dear Wife & Daughter

            I received your letter of the 13^th last night Friday was glad to get it and to hear that you ware all well it found me well and remain the same this morning I hope when this reaches you it will find you all the same that is enjoying good health; you will see by the heading of this letter that we have moved our camp since I last wrote to you; I told you in my last that our cavalry had crossed the Rappahannock again that morning; We broke camp early on Wednesday Morning the 16^th of Sept and moved across the Rappahannock at Kellys Ford I think we are now from ten to twelve miles from our old camp on the Rappahannock; it is thought that the Rebels are in considrable force across the Rapidan opisite to whare we now are laying our whole corps is near by here we are all in the woods out of sight of those chaps on the other side of the Rapidan; whare I shall be when you receive this letter is more than I can tell. but probably not whare I now am; I witnessed another execution yesterday one of the 3th Maryland Regiment was shot for Desertion there was fifteen or twenty sent to their long home yesterday in the Army of the Potomac for the same offence so you see what they get for trying to get away, You did not say in your letter of the 13^th whether you received two dollars in the one of the 6^th that you received from me or not I sent two in it and sent you one dated the 13^th with twenty dollars in it. I want you should always remember say whether you receive the money that I send wheather it is in large or small amounts. I will send you a Fifty dollar note in this letter on the Farmers and Mechanics Bank of Hartford. answer as soon as you receive it if you receive it at all and let me know if it is all safe. If you have more than you want to use and dont want to keep it by you you can put it in the bank either in your own Name or the children,s: I am glad to hear that Edgar goes to school and I hope he will try and see how well he can learn tell him that I say he must study hard and make up for lost time he must learn to write and he must write to me I have wrote a number of times for him to write to me but have not seen many of his letters so now if he goes to the select school I shall expect to hear from him. You say that Horase says he has wrote to me a number of times I have never received but one letter from him since I have been in the army and that was last December when I was at Fair Fax Station and I answered it but about that time he was at Moodus instead of being at Washington D.C. whare I directed it so that acounts for his not receiving an answer to one of his and the only one that I ever have received. Dont you worke to hard Lucinda It is rather cold here to day and wet have had considrable rain for the last few days My love to all and a Kiss

From your Affectionate Husband & Father

A.C. Smith

Copyright © 2009 Bruce E. Leandro. All rights reserved.