[Pencilled in on top of Scan 1 [July 17, 1863] ]



		Camp near Winchester Tenn July 17th /63
	Dear Lucy
		        once more I take my
pencil in hand to write you a few lines
hoping that they will find you well
             yourself
& enjoying ^ as well as I am & I hope
a goodeal better although I have nothing
to complain of we left the regiment the
13th at Salem about 50 of us ware ordered
back to this place to recruit our horses the
rest of the regiment left camp the same
day for Ala.. with rations for ten days
we may see them again before long and we
   a
m^y not in a good while Frank & Delaforce went
with the regiment the rest of boys from our
way are with me and are well Gust I dont
no anything about as I have not heard a
word from him since we left Murfreesboro
he and [Sprange?] sent word to me that
they wanted to see me before I left
we broke camp a day or two afterwards
and I had no chance to go and see 
them I hope they are both well before
this time we are camped here in the woods
in a nice place and are having a very 
				    over

[Written upside down on top of Scan 2]

July 28th No 25

lazy time of it & I dont no but they can
afford to let us rest after doing as much
scouting as we have for the last two weeks
we have been at night and day whenever
we had the luck to come up with the
rebles they thought best to get out of the
way as quick as possible it raind most all
the time while on the march and of course
it was not very comfertable for we had
wet ground to sleep on nights & mud to
paddle through in the day time the roads
have been very bad and they could not
get us our rations regular but we
have not had to go hungry much of
the time. I can tell you you we dont
live any of the. best lately we manage
to get along some way a part of our
Boys are out of camp now looking for
sleep they are geting mighty scarce about
here we get potatoes & apples to use now
Blackberrys ar ripe and thare is a plenty
of them.        I saw an man drummed out
of the service the other day he was senten-
-anced to have his head shaved and be drummed
through the cavaly camp & be sent to a 
military prisson for three years for trying
to burn a cotton mill I dont want to 
					over

see another such a sight the Col.. and field
officer of the regiment & a guard of four
men mounted went ahead of him a
guard of four men behind him and then
come the Band playing the rougese march
he be longed to the 1st Ohio cavalry
I dont want to get out of the service
in that way I would a [illegible in original] some 
be shot in a most any way
I have not received any mail lately
suppose I shall when I get with the
regiment again
   we get the news papers once in the while
the news has been good I should think
the Reebs ware getting the worst of it
all around now days the prospect looks
better for the war closing now than it has
for some time before I beleive I have
writen about all I can think of
		       a
if I could see you m^ybe we could
find something more to talke about than
I can find to write about (excuse [had writing?]
			Yors Truly
			      Othniel