I take the present opertunity of writing you a few lines to let you know that I am still in the land of the liveing. We left the Narrows on Tuesday after I returned to camp and came to Richmond on the cars on a frate train and the weather was so very cold that we suffered considerably with cold. We was two days comeing from Doublin to Richmond, then marched out five or six miles southeast of Richmond to camp. We pitched in to building winter quarters. About half of our regt. had fireplaces built to their tents; we had a very good fireplace to ours and about the time we got it fixed to stay comfortably we had to bundle up and leave again.

We are encamped about about three miles southeast of Petersburg. We are handy to water and wood, but it is not very good. When we get it we use branch water and pine wood principally. I heard this evening that our regt. was going back to Richmond tomorrow, but I don’t know whether it is so or not. I hope they will send us back to western Virginia again. I have seen enough of eastern Virginia to satisfy me with it.

I have no news of importance to write. I am well and weigh 175 lbs. Our boys are well at this time. There is two cases of smallpox in the 29th Va. Regt. that is stationed near us.