1861 July 20 Winchester [Virginia]

Dear Pa,
I am still at the old
camp, tried very hard to get off yester=
day & have been trying all day to day but
can’t succeed. Bird & five of the other other boys
left yesterday for Strasburg in a hack, I intend=
ed going in the stage to day if I cd have gotten
a seat, but the General Quartermaster came up ^ ‘yesterday evening’ to see
how we were get[t]ing along and he said that
it would be very wrong for any of us to leave
without the baggage & we must stay until all of
the baggage was carried to our Regimement. I think
we will be able to get of[f] to morrow, as sixty wagons
are run[n]ing all the time with the baggage between
here & Strasburg & the most of the other Regiments
have carried most all if not quite all of their
baggage to S….You have ^‘no’ idea what a lonesome
time I’ve had the last two days. I would give
anything I’ve got to get with my Co once more.
I’ve ^‘heard’nothing from them to day, I’m not certain

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where they are but suppose they are at Manassa[s].

I heard that the fight was still going ^‘on’, at Manas=
sa, but ^‘don’t’ k ^‘n’ow how to believe it as I hear so many
things now. I hope sincerely that my Co will not
get into a fight before I can get with them.

I will never be left behind again without I am
a great deal sicker than I was the other day. I w’d
have gone the other day but Pen, Bro. John & others
insisted so much upon my staying that I consent=
ed to stay. I know ^‘I’ cd^‘nt’ have stood the march but I
wish now I had tried it… I took Blue mass and
Rhubarb yesterday & am very well now.

Did Festus Chiles reach home safely? I think
he was afraid to go home or stay here, he did
not seem to know what to do, & I d^‘o’id n’t know what
he did [word lined out] do….It looks very different about
here to what it did a few days ago, everything looks
deserted. Nearly all of the Ladies have left Winchester.
I was down there this this evening. Col. Ashby is
[word lined out] in Winchester, he leaves for Man^‘s’ssa to morrow.

A party of the malitia are sent to guard us
every night. Last night some of the malitia
who were guarding the fortifications got scared at

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some thing, I don’t ^‘know’ exactly what, & every one of
them left & ran to the other side of Winchester. I hope
the Louisa malitia will ^‘not’ do as bad as that.

I saw French Bibb the day before we ^‘all’ left, he was
on his way to see Mr Southan who was very
sick….I reckon you’ve heard from Bro. John &
Pen & they told you where to direct yr letters.

One of the boys came in a [word lined out] little while ago & said
that the Quartermaster said our Regiment sh’d have the
next eight wagons that come in, so I reckon we will
certainly get off tomorrow, we may ^‘have to’ stay in Stras=
burg a day or two. I’ve not time to write anymore
& it is get[t]ing late. You must not be uneasy
about us if you don’t hear from us directly again,
we will write [letter lined out] whenever we can. I am entirely
well.

Yr devoted & most
Aff son
Best love to all at home, Aunt P. E. Jones
Cynthia’s & friends

MSS 13407