1861 July 14 Camp Halcombe

My Dear Creek

As the men have all retired to rest for
the night and I have an opportunity of sending you
this by Col smith in the morning, I have availed myself
of the opportunity. I wrote you on the 12th inst. by Sam
Maxwell of Pendleton. I sent by him one hundred &
twenty dollars (120 for you, you stated in your last that
if I sent you any you would send it right back again
you must not do this, on any account as I have no
earthly use for it here, and run a great risk of losing
it all, to give you some idea of how little use we have
for money here, I will tell you, that it only cost me for
board last month, three dollars, for negro hired $2.50 and
for washing 35 cents. My Liquor bill was $1.50 making
in all seven dollars and 25 cents, now my wages are
one hundred & thirty dollars per month. So you see I can
very well afford to send you some of it, particularly as
you know better how to take car of it than I do, and I have
clothes enough with me to last me for some time yet,
although my socks are missing you very much, the toes
are getting out of a great many of them, and I have to sew
buttons on my shirts pretty often, but I expected to have
all this to do before I started and I do it with a very good
grace.

I had just completed my last and handed it to Mr
Maxwell, when we got the order to strike tents at Camp
Tabor and take up the line of march to this place,
we had every reason to believe the enemy intended
atacking us and Camp Tabour [sic] was being a very bad place
to give them battle, we moved to this place where we have
a much better advantage of them should come, they

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are reported to be in about four miles of us, should they make
an attack on us here we are ordered by Beauregard to fall back
on General Bonham at Fairfax C.H where he is encamped,
with some seven or eight thousand men, five Regiments
of them, South Carolinians, so you see we will be very well
supported. Fairfax is about 7 or 8 miles from this place.
I neglected to tell you in my last that my company
were presented with a very nice flag the morning we left
Leesburg. The two fair donors are granddaughters of George
Washington or at least of his wife. You know he married
a widow with a family, but never had any children of his own.
The Revrd. Mr. Nurse delivered the flag in behalf of the laides [sic]
making a very appropriate speach [sic], which was most eloqently [sic]
responded to by W. D. Wilkes in behalf of the Company.
Our company think themselves highly honoured, by this
Testimonial, from such a source and I hope will be able
to carry the same banner, unstained, to Carolina when our
present troubles shall have ended, to cheer the hearts of
their wives and sweethearts, with this token of their
gallantry from their sisters of Virginia.

I don't know of any more news I can write you, we dont
hear much in camp just the same thing every day. the
men are all in fine spirits and anxious to meet old abe's
forces. Dugan & Jim are both quite well. they had a letter
from Pa. today I was very happy to hear from it that you
are all well when it left; I hope this may find you all
in the same condition, as my paper is enarly out and I cant
get any more till morning I will have to come to a close. Kis
our little Darling for me and tell her papa will soon be
home again to play with her and being her pretties. O Cheek
I would like so much to see you both again, if it was only
for one day, but the fates deny me that pleasure for the
present, but I trust a happy future is in store for us. May
God Bless and protect you both is the ernest prayer of your devoted
husband William

General Milledge Luke Bonham, 1813-1819, a veteran of both the Seminole and Mexican wars, was a cousin of Preston Brooks who had gained notoriety for caning Charles Sumner of Massachusetts on the Senate floor. Bonham was elected to fill Brook's seat when the latter resigned. He was in the Confederate Army intermittently until the end of the war with time out to serve as a member of the Confederate Congress and governor of South Carolina. After the war he continued his political career.