Camp near Stafford Court House, Va.,

Dear Mary,-

In my last letter I wrote what my duties were on the picket line, or part of my work. I do not know as it will interest you but hope it may.

There are no enemy near us so the duty is not hard as we do not have to be on the lookout for an attack which they may make at any time. Here the posts are not very close together and only one man to a post, which is always selected behind a tree, stump, rock, a pile of rails, a bush or anything that will hide the men. And when the line runs through a cleared field and we cannot get anything to pile up in front of the men, they dig short ditches in the ground and throw out the earth, which raises a bank and the men get into the ditch out of sight. They are called by the men "gopher holes." When we are near the enemy there will be from two to six men sent into one of these gopher holes where they will remain twenty-four hours. Sometimes they go in before daylight in the morning so the enemy cannot get a shot at them.

Then when we are close to the enemy we put out videttes or outposts in front of the picket line to keep watch of the enemy to see when they make an attack. Sometimes they have hard work to get into our lines without getting shot as they are often exposed to the enemy's fire. If a vidette can get in in time to give the alarm by telling that the enemy is advancing, he will do so, but if not, he will give the alarm by firing on the enemy. The best and bravest men are chosen for this duty. The vidette will give the alarm to the picket, the picket to the reserve and the reserve to the line of battle. If the vidette is heard to give the alarm and the pickets commence firing, it arouses the whole army and they make ready for a battle at once. When a soldier hears firing on the picket line he will spring for his gun,- he knows that means business.

At the reserve post the men can stack their arms and amuse themselves as best they can. One half of them can lay down at a time and sleep, but must not take off their accoutrements or leave the post without permission from the officer in command.

On the line a soldier must keep his gun in his hand all of the time and be on lookout every moment, and if he should go to sleep and be caught, the penalty is death as it might endanger the whole army.

I think you will understand picket duty by these letters so will close this, from,