1861 December 24 Cavalry Camp Leesburg

I sent you a long letter yesterday morning my
darling. do you know why I am writing to you
again to night? I'll tell you, it is the night of the
24th of Decr. and the anniversary of an event
which I always remember with gratitude as the
greatest blessing of my life, it is one my darling
which a life time of devotion can never repay;
this night eleven years ago I took you to my bosom
as my wife, and since that time, whatever may
have happened, although I may sometimes have given
you cause for pain and resentment, (and I can
never remember such an occasion but with
the deepest regret) there has never been a day or
an hour or a moment that I have not been
a perfect slave in my devotion to you, and now
after all these long years, which have passed like
a dream, I can clasp you to my breast with an
ardour unabated, and a love that has only
gathered strength from the lapse of time,
even before we were married, my darling, my
attachment for you was of a most remark=
able character, and now in addition to this, which
is as fresh and fervent as it was in the "smiling
days of courtship," I know and appreciate your
value, I know you are a good and true and
loving wife to me, and I can never have a
thought of happiness or enjoyment that is
unconnected with you, life indeed would be
no life to me without you my wife,--
I wonder if you get all my letters, I have hardly
ever missed sending you two a week hitherto,
though I have been very much engaged lately,
and it may be that this will prevent me from

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writing to you sometimes as often as I would wish.
I will always find time to write to you my darling
whenever I can, but if I should fail to do so at any
time, you may know that my duties have
made it impossible. I have to go off sometimes
to the piquet stations and stay several days and
nights, and then I am liable to be called off at any
time, I went down to Dranesville yesterday, and
looked over the ground where the battle occurrred
last Friday. I fear it was even more disastrous
to us than it has been reported, from the best in=
formation that I can get 42 of our men were killed
and more than a hundred wounded, there are
various conflicting accounts of the enemy's
loss, but I could not hear of but two that were
certainly killed, after examining the position
it seemed a mercy to me that Stuart's whole
force was not destroyed, he advanced along a
narrow road between pines so thick that a
man could not walk ten steps into them, until
he tot within point blank range of the enemy's
guns, which were planted upon a hill command=
ing the road completely, they had to retreat by the
same road whilst the enemy was pouring grape
and canister shot into them from eight guns
almost as far as they could reach, they killed
13 of our horses, our loss was greatly increased by our
men firing upon each other, I see the papers also
give an account of a battle near this place, which
is altogether a fabrication, as you have perhaps
learned before this, --

[letter will continue on Christmas night]