(excerpts)
Charlottesville, May 9th, 1864
“. . . Charlottesville is in a whirl of excitement and the ladies go in crowds to the dépôt to assist the wounded, who come in train after train. We are all going this afternoon laden with ice-water, buttermilk, etc., to see what we can do. Dr. C. is going with us and I hope we will do some good. It was urged by Mr. Meade in church yesterday that the ladies should render their assistance, as upwards of four or five thousand are expected this afternoon.
“There is nothing new this morning. Everything is very favorable and yesterday evening there was a rumor that Grant, being defeated, was entrenching, and Lee, also; the latter to send troops to Richmond, which is threatened on the south side and has only 14,000 at present. Beauregard in command. It is also said that Pickett had driven the enemy back below Petersburg. There are thousands of rumors and we are satisfied with knowing we have been victorious thus far. Gen. Longstreet passed through here yesterday, painfully, but not seriously, wounded in the shoulder.
“I told you in my last the package had come safely and I will be very careful of it. The prices for mending shoes are so exorbitant that I expect I had better wait and have them mended in the country.”