I am afraid we will have more desertions in the spring than we have ever had yet.
CAMP FOURTH NORTH CAROLINA REGIMENT,
NEAR PETERSBURG, VA., Jan. 29, 1865.
My Dear Folks:
I received your letter dated 20th inst., yesterday, which made nine days that it has been on the way.
Last week we spent on the front lines doing picket duty in the place of Scales Brigade which has been sent off. We had an awful time; the whole week it rained, and sleeted part of the time, and the rest of the time, it kept up the coldest wind that I ever felt. The men on vidette had to be relieved every half hour, to keep from freezing. One man in our regiment got so cold he could hardly talk when he was relieved. On the right of our brigade, the Yankees were some six or eight hundred yards off, but on the left we were near enough to talk to each other in an ordinary tone of voice, though we were not allowed to speak to them or to communicate with them in any way. We had two men to desert our regiment and go to the enemy. They were two brothers. I am afraid we will have more desertions in the spring than we have ever had yet. The men are getting very must dissatisfied. The Consolidation Bill, which is to be carried into effect shortly will cause a good deal of desertion among our best soldiers. I am afraid our company and regiment will lose their name after all the hard service which we have done since the commencement of the war. There are a good many peace rumors circulating through camp, which gives the men something to talk about. I fear it will all end in another summer’s hard fighting. If Blake comes by home, when he starts back, you may send me a gallon of peas and some potatoes. You need not send anything that you will have to buy. I expect we draw as much meat here in the army as you can afford to eat at home. I hope something will turn up by spring which will enable me to go home. I should like very much to see a good crop growing on our little places. What does brother intend doing in case the war continues? I hope he will never have to go. If he does, anything is preferable to infantry in the field.
Give my love to all.
Yours affectionately,
WALTER.
Letters from two brothers who served in the 4th North Carolina Infantry during the Civil War are available in a number of sources online. Unfortunately, the brothers are misidentified in some places as Walter Lee and George Lee when their names were actually Walter Battle and George Battle. See The Battle Brothers for more information on the misidentification.