1861 December 27 Camp near Centerville 19th Regt Va

Miss Rachel [Bramham]

Your kind and most heartily
welcome letter of the 18th inst was duely
Received some few days since and I having
to leave for Picket duty at an about that time
prevented me from having an opportunity to
Respond as promptly as I had anticipated But
I trust it is not too late to reach you Before
you leave your Papa. I have for several days been
feasting on the hope and Really the expectation
of getting a furlough for some few days
but alas, my hopes were Blasted yesterday
when it was made known that no fulouhgs[sic]
would be granted only to those that would
Reinlist for the war that I could not nor wou
-d not do though I have as great a desire
as any person to visit my friends Relations
and the Ladies above all: If I could have gotten
a furlough as my officers promised me I shou
-ld have spent one day and night at least
at your pas that was my intention when
I made the application. But I suppose our
supperiours knows what is Best, for us and
we privates are obliged to submit to their
Requirements let them be what they will

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I will give you a short Detail of our Picket
excu[r]sion as I imagine you are not much acquai-
nted with that part of a soldiers duty, we the left
wing of our Regiment that is half of the Regt--
Started last Sunday morning for our post which
is about five miles below here we arrived there about
twelve oclock we left two companies at the main
post as is customary while the others are placed
away out on out post to to[sic] wa[t]ch the movement
of the enemy and it fell to the lot of my company
to go out on the extreme out post and you
Recollect I have no doubt how it rained hailed
and snowed sunday night But we could not
keep in doors our account of the weather I was
out on post four hours during the night and
feel none the better from it now thoug[h] I am
not sick this duty we have to perform about
twice a month--you are aware I have no
doubt that soldiers have to live as they can
their only shelter from the weather to the
preasant time have been cloth Tents. But
finding them insufficient since the weather
has become so cold,we have Built log cabbins
and my self and mess have just completed
and moved into ours: a small cabbin Built
of logs stick and dirt chimney and covered
with oak Boards and hardly large enough
for a lady to turn around in dressed in

[page 3]
the usual summer habilhaments, though
it is small and rough yet it adds consider-
ably to our comfort: Just imagine for a moment
a mess of eight men sitting a round a Bright
Blazing fire in a rude cabbin what comfort
what pleasure a,las, it is no pleasure for me
to be excluded from the preasance of all the
fair ones there is no Real pleasure in such
a life, when I can clasp some gentle fair
hand in mine and call it my own when
I can have one near and dear that will
share equally with me in pleasure and
distresses then I would call this life a Real
pleasure I look forward with much anxie-
ty to that time if the Lord sees fit to spare
my life I trust I shall ere long be the happy
mani I think one is under those circumstances

I will not weary you any longer with
my uninteresting letter But close by
Remaining your freind

Most cincerely
R. L. Omohumndro

P S
your Request will be acceeded to with the
greatest pleasure and trust you will not
forget to Burn or tare mine as soon as you

[page 4]
get them do write soon

Good By

MSS 3437