1862 June 10 Camp Near Richmond

                                    Camp Near Richmond Va
                                           June 10th 1862
My Dear Creek
                    I received your welcome letter of
the 4th by Mr Stone.  I am very sorry t hear
of Maggie's sickness.  I hope by this time she
has got well, but it gives me a great deal of
uneasiness as there seems to be so much
sickness among children at home.  You
must be very careful about her just now
when green fruit is so plenty, and so
injurious to health. probably it may be
Measles she is taking.  Are they not raging
about Anderson at present? It is the best
time for anyone to have them young, but
it will require great care on your part but I
need not tell you this for I know you will do
all in your poser if not to much, which is
sometimes worse than too little.
Everything has been quiet since the Battle,
on our part of the lines.  Sometimes our

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pickets kill one or two of the enemy's Scouts
or takes them prisoner, but have never seen them
in force since 1st. Dont know how long it
may be before we will have another fight.
Our Regt has not done any duty since the
Battle, and no talk of our having to do any.  We
are about three mile from our front lines
and have got tents &c for our men again and
are very comfortably encamped n a large
clover field about two miles from Richmond
on the Williamsburg road, and things look
as if we were going to rest awhile from our
labors wh[ich] we all need ve[r]y much, and
their[sic]  is plenty of fresh troops now to take
our places in doing picket duty &c.
Most of our wounded men are doing well.
Very few if any of them will die and a great
many of them have already returned to
duty their wounds being slight.  I am sorry
to say that fears are entertained that J.B.
Carpenter and Elijah M. Holland are both
in the hands of the enemy.  Carpenter
has not been seen since nearly the close of

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the Battle.  I recollect seeing him myself about
seven o'clock P.M. and he was then fighting
Bravely in the ranks of his company and unhurt
but nothing has been seen or heard of him since.
he could not have been Killed or we would have
found his body.  he may have got wounded and
started back and taking the wrong way has fallen
into the hands of the enemy.  Holland was
wounded in the arm and started back to the
rear and has not been hear off [sic] since either
he must have taken the wrong direction and
been taken prisoner or something would have
been heard from him before this.  his wound
was not serious, only a flesh wound.
Tell Billy Smith Gambrell is getting along finely
and will soon be able to come home. he is one
of the Bravest soldiers in our Regiment.
William is well and getting along finely
still the old man yet.
this is Yankee paper I am writing to you on.  I have got
a pretty good supply of it and will send you some at
the first opportunity
I don't know of anything else that would interest

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you. I will write Jim and Jink this evening if
I have time.
Kiss dear little Maggie for me and take good
care of her

           Your affect. Husband
                  William

William B. Anderson, Major of the 4th South Carolina Volunteers


MSS 10366