Georgia June 12th /64

     Dear Pa and Ma
	I recieved your verry
welcome letter of the
27 and 30th of May 
last night and was
verry glad to hear from 
you as it was the first
time I had heard from 
you in over a month
I am well and hope
you are the same.
we are now held as a
reserve (our Division)
our troops are in good
spirits and confident
of victory: the rebs are
in front of us strongly
fortified and we shall
have to fight them 
out of them we have
                                         an
an exelent General. Sherm^

it is verry wet and
[crossed out] [rainy] Muddy here now
and has been for the
last week it is raining
now it is not verry com
fortable. here in camp
now. we get good rations
now and enough of them
you wanted me to write
all about the war and
I will do so to the best
of my ability: we hear that
our forces are bisieging
fort darling and charlston
we are in a good position
here and so are the rebs
once in a while whizzz
will come a shell from
the [whelps?] but they sldom
do any harm. and once
in every few minutes zip
will come a minnie
ball from their sharpshooters


     potatoes are as large
     as a hens egg here now
and every thing is verry
thriving the rebs had
put the most of Georgia
in to wheat and corn
but it will do them
no good as our cattle and 
mules are eating it
all up: the rebelion cant
hold out much longer.
you may wantid me to tell
whether I had been in
any battles yet or not and
what ones now I will
tell you I was in the
battle of ressica and it
was a verry hot place
there were a perfect
hail of shot and Shell
and bullets we were enga-
-ged. from one oclock in
the afternoon untill dark

and lost in killed
wounded and missing
68 men 15 killed and
the rest wounded and
missing the battle was
the 14 of last month
we were fighting them
off and on for 6 days
and that was the only
regular engagement I was
ever in and I do not
know as I would care
to be in an other one
I saw dick the sixth
of this month he was well
and hearty Warren is well
I am much obliged to you
for the [pine?] pop scabs
I shall send Home
more money in the future
I am 5 feet and 8 inches
in hight and weigh 130 lbs
and look as I always did
for all I can see

[Penciled in on top of Scan 5] [1864, June 12] 

     I am glad wilson
     is going to school
  he learns verry fast
I should think by the 
looks of the letters he
made in your letter
Pa you said you had
been to owosso and seen
about my taxes I will
send you the money to
pay them with. I shall
finish the Blacksmith
trade if I get out of
the army alive and will
Give charly my best respects
and tel him I was verry
glad to hear from him
and I will answer his
letter as soon as posible
[Ma?] wanted me to send
her my likeness but I cant
do it as I cant get it taken
here but I would be pleased
if she would send hers
and the babys tell
Ellen I will write to her
before long I have never
recieved but one letter
from her since I have
been in the army and
I answered that. no more
at present that I can
think of so I will close
with much love
I remain now as ever
your affectionate Boy
Israel G. Atkins