Beaufort S.C., May 7, 1862

Dear Mother,

         I received two letters from you today one dated March 11th and one April 29th and it affords me the greatest pleasure to hear that you are all well.  I am enjoying good health and hope when these few lines reach you they will find you all enjoying the same blessing.  We have been at the Ferry again and just came from there yesterday.  We had a fine time while we were there.  We were to the advance posts along the river.  The first morning our company went on picket the rebbles shelled us.  The shells flew thick all around us.  Some of us returned the fire but it was no use for rifles against cannon is no no good and we hand to get behind trees to save ourselves as much as we could, and although they flew thick around us there was no one hurt.  Captain Bentley sent word up to General Stevens and he sent Shermans battery down to return the compliment but before they reached there the rebbles took their cannon and flew back into their entrenchments and they have not dared to show themselves since.  While we were there we had to stand picket guard one day our of three and we generally put in the other days fishing and gathering blackberries.  I never saw so many berries in all my life, there are bushels of them in every field and they are about three times as large as any I have ever seen.  We were pretty hard on our clothes while we were there and we all drawed some new ones this morning.  I got one blouse, 1 pair of pants and 1 pair of socks.  We that came last never got any dress coat an I bought a new one worth about $8.00 for $3.00.  In one of my letters I told you that I would send you my likeness by Andy McPeck but I am very sorry to tell you that I lost it while on drill the very day he left but we will soon be paid off again and I will get another one taken and send it on to you.  I am surprised to hear you say that Mary Templeton has never got a letter from me for I wrote to her more than a month ago but suppose it must have been lost and I will write to her again.  You may know how uncertain the letters are when one of the letters I got yesterday was written on March 11th.  The members of the company are all well and Colonel says he never knew the regiment to be in such good health.  Now I must bring my letter to a close for we are all very busy cleaning up and moved our tents today.  We have very beautiful weather here now.  I suppose you are making garden now.  I would like very much to be there helping you but never mind I think if we keep on whipping the rebbles and I am sure we will I think the war will soon be over.  I am very glad to hear the children have got started to school again.  Give my love to all the family.

From you most affectionate son

Alex Adams 


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