Dear Mary,-

I intended writing you today but did not have the time. I have been on duty and had to put it off until tonight. I am not guarding the railroad now. I have been Officer of the Guard for twenty-four hours and have been kept very busy all of the of the time. An Officer of the Guard at this army post, as it is called, has charge of ninety-six men, sixteen corporals and six sergeants and to see that all do their duty is no small job. I have this work to do once a week, so it does not come very hard on me. It keeps an officer busy while on duty. They guard quartermaster stores, commissary supplies and Medical, Sanitary and Christian Commission stores. Thousands of troops pass through the station daily and the guard must keep a sharp lookout or the supplies would soon be missing. I caught one fellow stealing whiskey. I sent him under guard to the Provost-Marshall. Another thief was arrested by one of the men. A week ago four were arrested for the same offence.

The women and children in this part of the country are flocking in to the station for supplies and many of them are going North. I saw at one time twelve women with families of children waiting for transportation to go North. They all had to draw army rations to live on. Our Government is feeding large numbers of Southern people.- not men, for most of them are in the Southern army, but the wives and children of those who are fighting us.

I am sure the North will succeed and conquer the South and it shall prosper. It is observing the Bible injunction in feeding the enemy. I thank God that our lot was cast in a Northern state where there are no slaves nor poor people. You never saw poverty; there is none in the country at the North. The people for clothing take the raw material, card, spin, weave and make all their own garments. They have but one suit of clothing which they wear until they can keep it on no longer. Their food is corn and pork. Their hogs run in the woods and fatten on nuts. They get about as fat as a northern fence-rail. The people use plenty of tobacco and snuff but do not have tea, coffee or sugar. Very few know how to read.