Aprial. Sunday the 9th 1865
    Camp of the 8th Mich near Pulaskey
			Dear Wife with
pleasure I sit down to [answre?] youre
most welkem letter that come to
hand yester day I was out on picket
and did not get it untill this
morning but it come good where
I come in to camp for it commenced
to rain Just as I came in and it
done me good to have a letter to
read from you I was glad to hear
that you and the children ware well
and that you had got my likness for
     glad
I am ^ to do any thing for you that
I can when I get my pay I will get
it taken again and send it to you
in A diferent Shape so that you can
Send it to your folks and one to
Sarah and Johns folks. I. am in good
Spirets and enjoying my Self as
well as I can a way from my famley
the Dearst tie that I have on earth

god has been very good in sparing my
life through So many narrow plases and
in spairing the lives of my Dear famley
my prayer is that he will Spair us to
meet again on earth I hope that it
will not be long be fore it will
be when I can come so as not to be
bothered with the war I Supose that
you have heard all about the [illegible in original]
that General grant has gone I expect
by this time the rebel armey is
used up by this time thare is not
many of them near hear we do not
                      	                     any                       
expect [illegible in original] ^ of the rebs to come hear
but old forist and he started to
come and he got badley whiped So
I do not think that he will try it
again if he dose try it we are hear
first and we will give him one of
the [ofilist?] whiping that he ever got
but I do not think he will try it
again for he we give him enuf last
fall and winter I think the war

is about played out I think
    that we Shall Soon be don a
fighting for the present I hope
it is So and that I shall soon be
permitted to come home to my famley
			be
and I think that I shall ^ sattisfied to
stay at home with my Dear famley
the rest of my days I have good
times I have got a good tent to
live in thare is 2 of us that bunks
to gather and we have got it bilt
up of of the ground so that we can
stand up in it and we have got
a fir fier place to cock by and to
sit by it seams more like living we
are not in the same camp that we ware
in when I rote to you before we have
moved our camp about 6 miles we are
about one mile from town it is a
nice place for a camp it is on [illegible in original]
one [illegible in original] of our battel fields that we
fought on last winter thare is lots
of canon balls and shells sctterd on
the groung the ground [illegible in original] Some of

the shells will go yet I wish
you could hear the one of them. berst
we have become So used to hearing of
them that we do not mind them. any
more then we would the report of a
Shot gun when we wase to home we made
our fire place out of brick that come
out of a house that the rebs [2 words illegible in original]
when they was in hear last fall. you
wanted to know if I got that 50 Sents
and dollar that you Sent to me I have
got every thing that you Sent to me
but that first pair of soxs that
you Sent I hope they will do some
boddy Some good if they have got them
I do not want you to try to do to moch
in the gardin but you can get some boddy
to work it for you I hope that I will
be home in time to do somthing this
Summer but we most be contented
with our lot I Shall come home home
when it is rite for me to come I would
rather you would Stay thare then in
canada for we can get letters better
from eatch other I most stop give
my love to all enquiring friends give 
my best respects to Sarah. ellen. and
Johns folks no more this time this from
your ever affectnate husband to my
kind and Dear Wife Mary A. Smith
      J.B. Smith

[Written sideways on right-hand side of Scan 4]

I can not find any thing about Aaron nor edward