1862 March 23 Orange Court House, Va.

Camp Taylor near
Orange C.H. Virginia, March 23d

My Dear Creek

After a long and fatiguing
march,we have arrived at our destination
for the present, of course we cannot tell
how long we are to continue here, but
from every indication they seem to
intend keeping us here for a considerable
time, it is two weeks today since we
started from Centreville and have been
marching all the time except four days
which we rested on the road at intervals,
the weather has been very favourable for
the march most of the time, but we
had some pretty rough days and nights
of rain, which made the roads very bad
in places, but we have all stood it finely
and the health of our Regiment has improved

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very much on the march there is not a
single case of sickness in our camp this
morning and there is about six hundred
of us, I am five pounds heavier than I
was when I left Centreville, and nearly the
balance have improved in proportion.
We are lying at present in a woods &
are expecting our tents and baggage
in a day or two, they were all sent back
on the cars to Gordonsville which is
about eleven miles from hers: when
they arrive we will soon make ourselves
comfortable again. I have not had
my clothes of in two weeks, so you may
know I begin to want clean under
clothes pretty bad. I think I will
get them today or tomorrow when my
trunk gets here, we have fared very well
on the road for men on a march, we
have always had plenty of bread and
meat, and sometimes coffee, but our
sugar ran out, and you know the
coffee was not much to me without

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it, we came through one of most beautiful
contries[sic] I have ever seen, the land is all
fine, and ladies pretty and clever
now dont get jealous, we are now in a place
where I dont think we will ever see any
one but ourselves, right in the centre of
a large body of woods, about two miles
from Orange C.H. and close to the
Orange and Alexandria Railroad,
I think now that we have got back
this far we will all get our furloughs
in a few days, this however is only
supposition, but should it be so I will lay
in my claim among the first--I will try
and get to stay at home one month
but I am afraid it will only spoil me
again, for there is a great difference between
home and camp life. Bill and Jim
are both here and quite well. I expect to get
several letters from you by the mail this evening.
Kiss Dear little Maggie for me, and except for
yourself the constant love of your devoted

William

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address
Capt. Wm Anderson
4th Regt. S.C.V.
Camp Taylor Orange C.H.
Virginia
William Anderson, Captain Co. J, 4th Regiment South Carolina Volunteers [Palmetto Sharpshooters]

MSS 10366