H. F. Scarborough
Camp Ashby Sept 4 1863
Dear Wife
I received you letter yesterday I was very glad to hear from you I had been very uneasy for three or four days but am happy to hear that all is well ! There is no news of importance here at this time! The Yankees still keep up the siege of Charles ton ! It seems as if their energies are untireing in their efforts at the place it is my opinion (as expressed before) they will eventually take the place although they will do it at great cost! A very ser=ious accident occurred on the drill ground a few evenings ago! While we was on drill ! we was ordered to fire to the rear while in [echelon] and in making the left about with the caisons the [wheel] horses that Tom Picket was driving fell ! which caused the caisons to run over the horses and, Picket the horses was not injured much but Pickett was hurt pretty bad the [wheel] of the caison ran over his legs but did not break them ! he received a severe cut on his head ! it is very dangerous with these rapid movements on drill if a horse should fall__ I do not drive I pefer the duties of a canoners ! I am sorry the crop is no better than you think it is ! I am in hopes that it will turn out better than you think ! bottom land generally turns out more than it looks for ! have you a good potatoe crop ! If your corn is short you had better not try to fatten more meat than it will take to do you ! I think you had better [buy] another bushel of salt ! I do not think [that] with what you have will be enough ! I will write to Fred Bryan and see if I can get him to make a crop for you ! though I fear he would get tired and leave before the crop was finished ! do you not think it would be a good ideal to seell the steers if you have no work for them to do ! I do not think there is any use of feeding them through the winter unless you have work for them to do ! do you not think I had better get that field below the road from Henry White to sew so that you can have a pasture next year ! this leaves me tolerable well ! my health has improved a good deal for the last two weeks ! I will write again next week ! write soon ! my love to the children Yours affectionately
H. F. Scarborough
[Transcribed by Stacy Bryant, June 2005]
[Edited by Tina Bernath, June 2006]
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