The following letter was written by Amaziah Joshua Foss (1839-1863), the son of Woodbury Marden Foss (1804-1869) and Eliza Foss (1811-1887) of Strafford, New Hampshire. Amaziah and his younger brother Lemuel Perkins Foss (1841-1871) both served in Co. F, 13th New Hampshire Infantry during the Civil War.

Amaziah enlisted in August 1862 and was mustered into the regiment on 19 September 1862. He wrote this letter a few weeks later while at Aquia Creek, Virginia, less than a week before the Battle of Fredericksburg. He survived the attack on Marye’s Heights at Fredericksburg but a few months later he received a severe wound in the right leg while fighting at Providence Church Road (Suffolk) on 3 May 1863. His wound required amputation of the limb and he died from loss of blood on 7 May.

Transcription

Camp near Aquia Creek, Virginia
December 8th 1862

Father,

I take my pencil in hand to write you a few lines to let you know that I am well and so is Lemuel. I suppose that you have been wondering why I have not written before but we have been on a march [since] last Monday. We are brought up for a support, so I heard. I suppose that there is agoing to [be an] advance on Fredericksburg as soon as they can get ready.

We had a good time to march until Friday when it began to snow and rain which made it muddy. Some of the boys went off and got a pig and brought into camp Friday night.

You want me to tell you if I got the money and postage stamps, I got them both but the box we did not get and I suppose we shall not get it at all now but still we may. They say that we are in camp where there was a Rebel cavalry encamped last winter but they have all gone now. 

There is five brigades in camp here now I believe. The sick we left at Camp Casey but some of the them has gone to New York and three of them has come on after us and the rest is in the hospital—all there to Camp Casey.

I can’t stop to write anymore now so good[bye for] now. From your son, — A. J.

Direct your letters as before.