October 24th 1863

October 24th 1863

My Deare Wife I take this opportunities of writeing these few lines to you hopeing they will finde you and the children wall as it leaves me at this time thank God for I receveiid your kind letter to day and was glad to heare from once more it affords me much pleasure eaven to get a letter from home and to heare from the Dearest object on earth how rejoiced I would be to see you and the little pratts that I uste to dandle on my knee and still hope to see the same privilege a gain then I shall consider my self the happest man on earth.

I must say that I always took comfort with my famley and cannot look back on an hour when I did not but this thing I do know that I shall know how to epreicheate the blessings and comforts God speade the day when the poor soulder can return to there deare happy home is my prayer to day is a rainey day and I am doing nothing a bout eighty of our reagement is detaled to work on th erailroade.

That the rabs has torn up on our retreate we have done some hard marching scince I joined the reagement we commanced our retreate the next day after I arrived at the the reagement and I tell you we went in earnest that day until we crossed the this side of the repperhanic we staid there one night in the morning about 2 miles and took our procession for a fight for we knew that lee was trying to flank us and capture our wagon and supply raines but he was foiled in the attempt the morning we had marching orders a gain and we stireted by daylight and marched till a bout ten at night and I tell you I was taired that night my feet was blistered badley we then rasted for the night and of again in the morning we crossed bull run stream and staid for the night during that day we there was heavey cannondeing and musketry not but a little ways of me was drawn up in line of battle waiting to receving them should they atect us but they did not the next morning we fell beck to union mills a short distance from bull run crick and our whole core placed in poseasion on the highths that would have given them ‘jessey’ if they atemted to come any further.

That way our readement was then oadered down to the river to support our skirshmers and the shall ‘would’ howling over our heads and the crack of the musket a few rods a head of us we was marched to the edge of the woods then halted to take apart in the fight if they drove our skirmishers our batry on the hill not but a short distance from us soon silenced there battry and darkness brought stillness all around us in the morning we built us a brest work of stone and logs but we have had no acation to use them the next day there was terrific fireing at our wright and left and lee is again driven back to his old hideing place and we have marched two days back a gain heare the rabs has torn up the rail track for several miles and we are goin to help fix it up a gain and the cars will be running through a gain in a few days I suppose we shall soon fo in the winter quarters now that is the talk now I have not received the letter with that fifth cents in it I got nearly two dollars now I sould some of my old duds I had more then I could carry that was batter then to throw them away so I close for this time so good bye for this time from your ever loveing husband I.

Gibbs to Chloe L. Gibbs. Kiss the children for me and if I could I would you.