In front of Fredricksburg, Va.

Nov. 26, 1862

Dear Mother,

             I have just seated myself to answer your most kind and welcome letter which I received yesterday. I am well and hope this will find you all enjoying the same blessing. We left camp starvation as we called it 3 days after I wrote that letter to sis and after marching 3 days, a distance of 60 miles, we arrived opposite Fredricksburg where we are now encamped. The rebbles are in the town in force and don’t seem inclined to leave it. I expect we will have a big fight here yet. I got the mitts you sent me and am very well pleased with them. I got the dollar you sent and was very thankful for it but I am afraid you needed it worse than me for from what I hear times are very hard in the North now but I hope we will soon be paid off. When you sent the mittens if you had just wrapped them up in a newspaper the mail on them would only have been 2 cents instead of 18. It is getting pretty cold weather here now. If we don’t go into winter quarters soon it will be pretty hard on us. Some think we will not this winter. O dear how I wish the war was over. Anyone who has not had the experience of a soldier can have no idea of the hardships they have to endure but I hope it will soon end . I have a great many things to tell you so many that it would be madness for me to commence to write them but I hope it will not be very long till I see you all again. All of our company that is here is in very good health. We only have about 50 men now and when we was in Beaufort we had 110. Some of them have been killed in battle, some have died of sickness, some have been discharged and a great many are sick and wounded in the hospitals. Joe Templeton is sick in some hospital. I don’t know how he is as I have not heard from him. SO far I have stood it very well and am fatter than I ever was but I must close for my hands are so cold and numb that I can hardly hold the pen so goodbye. Give my love to pap, the children and all inquiring friends.

From your affectionate son

Alexander Adams

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