No 19 
Near Camp Chase Vanburen Jan 11th 1863
 My Dear Mary. We are on a march somewhere I do not know where, we suppose to Springfield some report to Pocahontas Arkansas.  We have been marching around for 2 weeks.  one day across the river & camp, & then the next day move a piece then we go to work & build a little house about 4 feet high & stretch the tent over it & split puncheons & floor it & build a fire place.  Our little shanties are 6 1/2 feet square usually 5 of us to the tent. we built one at Patterson one on the other side of Currant River, & one on this side & cut the timbers for another. they make a verry comfortable little house, but verry much crowded.  I don't think we will build any more of them unless we are certain of staying, longer in a place.  This is sunday.  I got up early this morning & learned that we would not leave this camp before 2 or 3 oclock & may be not until to morrow, so I went to a creek & bathed & washed my clothes, now my little wife you will think that I did wrong perhaps not to have washed some other day, but let me tell you how I have spent the last week or two. since we came out here the Regiment has been nearly all on duty all the time, often every other day & night on picket.  I have stood picket one day & night out about 30 hours with out sleep, the next day on prison guard, & the next day on picket, last Saturday & Sabbath I was guarding prisiners, & what hurt me most, the poor butternuts had to work all day sunday choping & working on the [illegible].  O what a miserable day it was to me.  I had to stand around among them with my gun & bayonet fixed.  O how earnestly I prayed God to deliver me from such a position & now to day I have to go out on picket at 1 oclock & it must be nearly that time now I think I will keep my paper along & write some while out if I am in a place where I dare do it, we are not allowed to read newspapers, but may be I can write some while not directly on duty, I am anxious to write to Bea Nash, but it seems that I can't get time. & I don't know that he would relish my disgust for the way this war is carried on, for I certainly consider it the greatest humbug of a war that we read of, but if I should write to him I will give him the benefit of my private opinion.  I know that you are all deceived with regards to the manner in which this war is going on
