AMP NEAR BUNKER HILL, VA., Aug. 30, 1864.
Dear Mother:
I take this occasion to drop you a few lines, as you will be more likely to get it if I send it by Capt. Thompson than by mail. I got with the regiment last Saturday at Bunker Hill, as they fell back from Charlestown. We went into camp and remained quietly until yesterday morning when the Yankees advanced on Martinsburg pike. We were thrown in line of battle and remained so all day; the Yankees having retired we went back into camp a little after dark. We received orders last night to be ready to move this morning at sunrise. ‘Tis now about eleven o’clock and we are still in camp and will probably remain here the remainder of the day, though two or three days is a long time for us to remain in camp without some move. The boys all seem to be in very good spirits, though they look quite thin from the hard marching they have had to do since they left Richmond. It’s my opinion that the army will fall back towards Strasburg in a few days, though it’s only a conjecture of my own. I have been in excellent health ever since I left home, though at times I have had the blues pretty bad. I begin to feel perfectly at home and everything begins to feel like old times. I am in hopes we have done most of our hard marching that is the only thing I am dreading now. The weather has turned some cooler, the nights are quite cool, making a heavy blanket feel quite comfortable.
Tell Mr. Rhodes that Blake is with the Company and is looking very well, he was only at the hospital a few days from being broken down. He is asleep now, or I would ask him if he wished to send any message. Write soon. My love to all the family. I remain as ever,
Your sincere and affectionate son,
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.