8th 1861
Camp Benton  Dec
Dear sister i now take 
my pen in hand to inform 
you that i am as well as
usual and hope these few 
lines will find you the same and 
have not much to write as i have 
written two letters already and my 
thoughts are somewhat scattered. i 
will venture to say a few words 
i was out on Picket gard four 
days and we had  a jolly old time
of i and a plenty of grub and 
oyster thrown in i went to a 
farm house last tuesday mor
ning and got a dish of bread 
and milk for the first time 
since i have been in mary-
land and that seemed like 
old being at home we will 
go into winter quarters on the


the ground where we are 
and the two regiments ---
will gard the river 
from Seneca to a place 
called Edwards ferry a distance 
of twelve miles. our 
sick boys is getting 
better very fast and i weigh 
twenty Pounds more than i 
ever did before in my life. 
mis Brainard’s services is very 
highly thought of among the 
boys and she has the full 
charge of the hospital affairs. 
the boys of our company made 
up a purse of forty dollars 
for her in the appreciation of 
her services a short time since 
and she had paid out 20 dol
lars of her own money for the
sick before that and the 
boys look up to her as a child 
does to its mother and she is

as mother to us all. there 
is two heavy battles reported 
to have come off lately but
 i do not know whether it 
is true or not if you know 
bills address send it to me in
your answer as i have not written
to him and do not know whether
 he is in the 8 or 9 regiment nor 
what company he is in i had 
a letter from Jim and [lib?] 
about two weeks ago and he 
had got over the ague and 
gone to work in the shop i
should like to know if you 
have heard from [orm?] and
[katl] lately or not and if 
you have let me know how 
they are and what they are 
doing I have had one letter 
from lois since i have ben 
here and they were all well 
as usual there and i [smudge?]


          from  you
am a looking for ^  a letter every 
mail but they don’t come and 
I cannot tell what the 
reason is lewis Hughson is dead
he was buried 3 weeks ago last 
thursday and he was married 
just one week before we left 
Lapeer and his wife said 
that  i cannot think of 
any more news to write 
and now I will close

Give my respects to all

  Not More at Present

   Roger Noble