1862 February 20

Camp Butterfield Halls. Hill. Feb. 20th/62
Dear Mother.
I received your letter
to-night and was very glad to hear from
you and to hear that you are getting better.
I am well and so are the rest of the Galway boys
The weather is still stormy and it has been terrible
muddy for the last two months and everything
begun to look gloomy enough. Well you wanted
to know to know who tented with me and who
I slept with. Well Archie Anderson – the one that
went with me and a fellow by the name of Smith
and one by the name of Hammond tents with me
Smith and Hammond bunk,d next to us in
Albany and they wanted to tent with us and
as they were both good boys (that is morrally good),
we took them in. I and Archie sleeps to gether
he is a real fine fellow although not a christian
Well now I will tell you the reason why I have
not said more on religious subjects in my letters.
While we were in Albany we organized a christian
association which had every prospect of being the
means of doing a great deal of good in the Regt.

[page 2]
and I enjoyed religion as well there as I did at
home for we had divine service regular every
sabbath and we had the privilege of going to
the city to evening meetings and we hag [had] prayer-
-meeting twice a week at the barracks, but since
we have been here at the seat of war we have
had a great many difficulties to encounter. In
the first place we had a great deal to do to
get things in shape to live comfortably and our
religious meetings were in a measure neglected, and
in the next place the weather begun to get
cold and we had no place whatever to hold
meetings in but the chaplains tent and that
would not hold more than 5 or 6 men, and in the
next place our chaplain was not generally
liked by the Regt, and as we had to stand
out doors to hear him preach it soon got so
that scarcely any one went out to hear him
preach, more on account of not liking to stand
out in the cold than anything else, in fact
I have stood out there (for I always went out)
and really suffered with the cold. Well the
chaplain finally got discouraged and nearly
all winter things were at a stand still and
being surrounded by temptations of every kind

[page 3]
I have at times wandered from the path of
duty, and at times every thing looked gloomy
and I know that I have not lived at times as
I ought to have lived, but when I feel low spir-
-ited I take my bible which I keep with me
and from it I can draw consolation and also in
secret prayer. I feel that God has been very
mercifull to me and I am resolved to live closer
to Him henceforth than I have ever done before
for I find to be a christian and in the service
of God one hour is better than years in the
service of the devil, but I need your prayers.
Our old chaplain has resigned and we have
got another one and he is a very fine man
and is well liked by the Regt: and we
have got a comfortable place to hold meetings
in and everything has got started again so that
things looks more prosperous, and I find that
I can enjoy religion much better by having an
opportunity of meeting with christian friends
once or twice a week where we can converse upon
subjects of religion and sing God,s praises and
to offer up our prayer’s to Him who is ever ready
to hear and to answer. We have 64 members in our

[page 4]
christian association and it is going on finely.
Well now concerning what you spoke of in our
letter concerning me I of course shall not let it
trouble me for I dond [don’t] beleive anything in it, but
still such a thing might be for I am as apt to
get killed as anybody, but if I should go into battle
according to accounts of all battles there is not more
than one chance in 100 of getting killed, never-the-
-less I hope and trust I shall prepared to die if such
should be my lot. But I must I must close by
bidding you good night, and in the morning I will
give you the news of the day on another sheet.
this from your dear son,
James. H. Reese.

Possibly the James H. Reese who was a private in Co. B of the 44th New York, on duty in the defenses of Washington in February of 1862. An Archibald Anderson was also a private in Co. B. of the same regiment.
[transcription by Mary Roy Dawson Edwards]

MSS 828