These letters were written by Pvt. Allen Quarmby (1831-1875)—a native of Yorkshire, England. In 1860, Allen was laboring in a woolen mill at Schuylkill, Chester county, Pennsylvania. By 1861, he had married the widow Jane (Lambert) Kay (1835-1903)—an Irish-born dressmaker—and relocated to Norristown, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, where he enlisted in Co. K, 4th Pennsylvania Volunteer (P. V.) Infantry (3 months). He mustered out of the 4th P. V. on 21 July 1861.
In the fall of 1862, Allen re-enlisted in Co. C of the 138th P. V. Infantry. Allen remained with the 138th P. V.’s until he was wounded on 6 May 1864 at the Battle of the Wilderness. He was discharged on 10 April 1865 on account of his wounds.
After the war, Allen returned to Norristown, Pennsylvania, and went to work in a cotton mill but he died prematurely in 1875 at the age of 44.
See also—1861-63: Allen Quarmby to Jane (Lambert) Quarmby published on Spared & Shared 17.
Letter 1
Annapolis [Maryland]
May 4th 1861
Dear Jane,
I have received your two letters. I was glad to hear of you and the children being well. I keep pretty well myself—Glory be to God for all His mercies.
Dear Jane, there is five thousand troops here ready to march at a moment’s warning. All our company keep pretty well and more particularly, the Valley Boys. They are in high spirits.
Dear Jane, as I write it is rumored that Major Anderson is in our camp—the hero of Fort Sumter.
I received the parcel. I can get along first rate now. Take great care of yourself adn the children. Keep in good spirits. Three cheers for the stars and stripes. Give my respects to all inquiring friends. Don’t neglect writing. No more at present from your husband. — Allen Quarmby
Letter 2
Washington [D. C.]
May 14th 1861
Dear Jane,
I write these few lines to you hoping to find you in good health—also your sister and the children. I keep pretty well myself considering the way we are situated. Dear Jane, our quarters is miserable enough. We are quartered in an old carriage house. Some of the troops are in the Capitol, the Patent Office, and all other buildings that will hold them. There is a great deal of discontent amongst the soldiers. They would be more satisfied if they was encamped in an open field. It would be more healthful. There has been several taken to the hospital sick, however I trust in God that I will keep well myself.
We have dress parade every day. Our time here is loathsome enough. Yesterday I saw General Scott and the President. I was in the President’s House half an hour. It is very beautiful. Dear Jane, I don’t think we will have much fighting during our three months. There is some building takes fire here every night. The city is crowded. Take care of yourself and the children.
Dear Jane, I never saw a pair of bedsteads since I have left home. However, I feel able to stand on my head until our time is up. We are pretty near the enemy now. All we have to do is to cross the river to meet them. The troops do not know the policy of the government. The nearer we get to our enemy, the less news we get. Our orders may come any day. We will not disgrace Old Montgomery County. Cheer up. Three cheers for the ladies of Montgomery County. Three cheers for the brave volunteers. Three cheers for the flag of our Union.
I conclude with saying, God bless you and the children. Give my respects to all inquiring friends. No more at present from your husband. — Allen Quarmby
Care of Captain Cook, for Allen Quarmby, 4th Regiment, Co. K, Penna. Volunteers
One of our colonels went to reconnoiter the enemy today. He is armed to the teeth. He can kill 30 men. He says he will see what the enemy are about or he will come back a corpse.
If you choose to send me anything, it would come safe. Tobacco is scarce. If you do send, direct care Captain [Walter H.] Cooke.
Dear Jane, I received your letter of the 13th this morning just as I finished this letter. There also came several letters from Valley Forge. We sent all our clothes home before we left Annapolis. You should have received them before this. The sun is very hot here this afternoon. We are soon going to have dress parade. Yours, — Allen Quarmby
Letter 3
Washington [D. C.]
May 23, 1861
Dear Jane,
I received your letter and the articles you sent me. I am glad to hear of you and the children being well. I keep pretty well myself, thank God for it.
Dear Jane, all our company has marched down to the river. We all took a bath and came to our quarters at 12 o’clock. Doctor Dunlap was afraid fever might break out amongst us. However, our company keeps pretty well. We have only one sick in the hospital. He will be well in a few days.
Dear Jane, we got orders to have everything ready to march at a quarter hour’s notice this morning. I think we will be encamped about two miles out in the country. It will be more healthful. All the soldiers is getting tired of this city. Dear Jane, this city is pretty quiet now. We put in a pretty idle time of it. We have lots of fun here. We have a fiddle with us. Some of the soldiers is dancing every night. You are aware that I will have 5 weeks of my time served a Sunday.
“Three cheers for the flag of our Union the whole hog or none.”
— Allen Quarmby, Co. K, 4th Pennsylvania Vols., 23 May 1861
I think there will be no fighting until our time is up, I will take care of myself and bring my pay home. If we move today, I will write and let you know how and where we are encamped. Give my respects to all inquiring friends. I conclude with saying God bless you and the children. Pray for my safe return. Three cheers for the flag of our Union the whole hog or none.
Your husband, — Allen Quarmby
The Valley Forge Boys is all well—ready to have a fight with the enemy, and they have a many a muss amongst themselves too.
Address Care of Capt. Cook for Allen Quarmby, Morris City Rifles, Co. K, Fourth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers.
Letter 4
Washington D. C.
Camp Montgomery [near Bladensburg]
June 9th 1861
Dear Jane,
I received your letter and present of the 6th. I was glad to hear of you being well. I feel pretty well myself, thank God for it. I think by the tone of your letter, you think I do not write often enough. However, when I do write, I tell you the truth and direct my letters properly which I know there are a great many of our men do not.
Today we have about 12 men sick in the hospital. Since the 4th left Norristown, they have lost three men by death. Our regiment is in high spirits. All we ask is an open field and a dash at the Rebels. However, I don’t think we will have any fighting—at least not before the 4th of July.
We got our uniform yesterday. 1 We also got our new blankets. Our regiment is getting all honors from the City of Washington. We have plenty of visitors at our camp. It takes one hundred and fifty small tents for your regiment. You know we are about two miles north of Washington. We have a fine view. We can see down the river as far as Alexandria where the brave Colonel Ellsworth was murdered while tearing down the Rebel flag. May his patriotic soul rest in peace. You know I have six weeks to serve yet. You must count 13 weeks for 3 months. The warm weather goes hard with some of our men.
It appears as our vanguard moves southward the Rebels give way and fall back to the interior. However, we hear they have lit in for the 4th [Penn.] Regiment because we took possession of Perryville and Annapolis. However, we are prepared for them. We will give them a smell of gunpowder. There is about sixty of our men goes scouting. You know we pick up all stragglers.
Give my love to Ruth and the children and to all enquiring friends. I conclude with saying, cheer up!
Your husband, — Allen Quarmby
Care of Captain Cooke
Fourth Regiment, Co. K
Penna. Volunteers
Washington D. C.
Camp Montgomery
1 While at Annapolis on 28 April 1861, the 4th Pennsylvania received clothing that its men were not issued before their hasty departure from Camp Curtis. The blouses and pants that they received, provided to the state by war-profiteering contractors, were “made of damaged goods of inferior quality,” as observed by industrialist Benjamin Haywood, dispatched by Curtin to investigate after widespread complaints. The state accordingly changed its uniform suppliers and had the original contractors prosecuted for fraud. The 4th Pennsylvania would not receive new uniforms from the state until June. After two weeks at Annapolis, the regiment arrived at the capital on May 8; Captain William J. Bolton of Co. A wrote in his diary that it was met at the railway depot by a large crowd expecting to find a “splendid equipped regiment.” Instead, Bolton described his unit as a “sorry set of looking objects”: without knapsacks, their clothes were carried in dirty blankets on their backs. A lack of tents prevented the regiment from going into camp. It was instead billeted in the Assembly Rooms on Louisiana Avenue and the nearby Trinity Church. The resulting close quarters resulted in disease becoming rampant. When the regiment received tents, it encamped two miles from the city near Bladensburg. At the camp, it began regular drilling and inspections after receiving the necessary equipment. [Wikipedia]
Letter 4
Washington D. C.
June 25th 1861
Dear Jane,
I write these few lines to you hoping to find you in good health—also the children and Ruth. I can tell you I have often felt better myself than I do now. They are drilling us almost to death. We get no kind of nourishment to stand it. Only think of it—5 or 6 hard crackers and black coffee three times a day. And our officers thinks they can’t drill us enough. However, our time is getting short. I think we will get home without any fighting after all. There is a great many of our poor fellows sick with the bad living [rations] and the hot sun. Our camp is in a newly plowed cornfield a foot deep with sand and dust. Every little wind that comes blows the dust into our tents and into our eyes too. I can tell you, it is a hard matter to get to write a letter with us. They will not frank our letters nor give us money either. However, we don’t blame Uncle Sam. It is the rascally agents that put the money in their own pockets.
There is some talk of us going homewards after the 4th of July to let the three-year soldiers take our tents. I think the most of our three month men is tired and eager to get home. There is about two hundred of our soldiers on duty each day. One half of them goes on guard duty and the rest go scouting the country. We are about three miles from Alexandria. This place is called Camp Hale. We are about fifty yards from Fort Ellsworth. Direct your letters as usual.
Things is very quiet here. I have nothing of interest to tell you—only take care of yourself and children. Your husband—Allen Quarmby
Letter 5
Camp Hale near Alexandria 1
July 1st 1861
Dear Jane,
I received your letter. I was glad to hear of you and the children being well. I stand it pretty well myself, thank God for it. Since we encamped here, our men has had a great deal of sickness of dysentery. However, they are all getting better. Our drinking water is very bad.
I am sorry to have to tell you all our men won’t get home alive. Two of our poor fellows was shot down while on picket guard. However, they had to pay the penalty; two or three of the Rebels was shot also. It was at two o’clock in the morning. Our company was marched to the place about two miles. However, the Rebels made their escape. They was mounted rifle men. 2 We may have to fight any minute, more particularly in the night time. Our men is ready to give them a warm reception—that is, if they attack us.
I rather think we will get home without a battle after all. But you must bear in mind we may get orders to march southwards any moment. If we do, our men will go with a will and fight for the Union to the last, if required. I rather think we will be at home in two weeks with the help of God. 3
I have nothing more to say, only take care of yourself and the children. Give my respects to all enquiring friends. Your husband, — Allen Quarmby
When you direct your letters, put my name the first that is on the top so:
For Allen Quarmby, care of Captain Cooke, 4th Reg. Co. K, Penna. Volunteers, Washington, D. C.
1 Camp Hale was sited on Shuter’s Hill near Alexandria, Virginia.
2 At 02:00 on June 30, three soldiers of the regiment on picket duty under the command of a second lieutenant from Co. B on the Old Fairfax Road were attacked by a superior Confederate force that they repulsed, killing one Confederate. Three other pickets from Co. E, attempting to rescue the original three, also engaged the Confederates, losing one killed and another severely wounded.
3 As the 4th Pennsylvania’s three-month term of enlistment expired on July 20, the soldiers of the regiment spent that day discussing whether they should remain with the army or return to Pennsylvania. McDowell sought to keep the regiment with the army for the upcoming battle, promising that the regiment would not have to serve more than two more weeks, but also stated that those who did not wish to continue their service would be sent to the rear. The appeals of McDowell and Hartranft to patriotic duty were partially successful: many in the regiment were willing to stay, but others wanted to muster out as scheduled due to their previous negative experiences with lack of equipment. The latter felt that they were entitled to a rest as they planned to reenlist in new three-year units, to be organized by officers of the regiment. Preferring not to send the 4th Pennsylvania into battle understrength with only the men who wished to remain, McDowell, who considered the repulse at Blackburn’s Ford the cause of the discord, decided to send the entire regiment to be mustered out. Hartranft and Captain Walter H. Cooke of Co. K stayed with the army, serving on the staffs of Franklin’s brigade and David Hunter’s division, respectively. Cooke, after finding that only a half dozen of his men stepped forward to fight in response to his question, left in disgust and initially started for the camp of the New York Fire Zouaves to serve as a private before being told he could be more useful with the staff of a unit. Both Hartranft and Cooke distinguished themselves during the First Battle of Bull Run and were awarded the Medal of Honor in the late 1880s.
On July 21, as the First Battle of Bull Run began, the 4th Pennsylvania remained in the rear; it and Varian’s New York Battery of the 8th New York Infantry were the only three-month units to refuse to fight in the battle. That morning, the regiment struck camp and marched back to Camp Hale under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Schall. Several witnesses reported its departure, ensuring that its actions would be widely denounced. On its way to the rear, the regiment was derided by Ambrose Burnside’s brigade and fleeing civilians. The 4th Pennsylvania was not in unanimous agreement on departing, Corporal Joseph K. Corson of Company K later recounting that he was ashamed of marching away from the sound of the guns, and that others felt similarly. Journalist William H. Russell acknowledged that “perhaps the Fourth Pennsylvania were right, but let us hear no more of the excellence of three months’ service volunteers”. At Camp Hale, the regiment was mustered out of federal service the next day and after arriving at Washington on July 23, it proceeded to Harrisburg via rail to be mustered out of state service on July 27. The companies of the 4th Pennsylvania returned to their hometowns, the Norristown units coming back to a “hearty welcome” from the locals. [Wikipedia]
Note: The letters written beginning in the fall of 1862 were written by Allen when he served in Co. C of the 138th Pennsylvania Volunteers.
Letter 6
On Picket Duty
Monday, September 15th [1862]
Dear Wife,
I received your letter of 12th and was glad to hear from you and the family. I am pretty well at present and also in good spirits and hope you and the family are the same. My health is ten times better than it was when I worked in the mill. You need not be any ways afraid of Stonewall Jackson for if he is not careful of himself, he will be caught in his own snare as Gen. McClellan and Burnsides had a fight with him on Thursday and whipped him according to report. We are in no ways alarmed at the reports concerning the enemy being in Pennsylvania.
I received the shirt and medicine you sent by Lieutenant Wills and as you say you thought I had forgotten you, I will say you must not think of it. We have not much danger to go through with on picket duty here as all the picketing we have to do is to guard the railroad and telegraph wires from being destroyed by the farmers along it. Why as to danger, we don’t think of it. Why we sleep in our barracks as sound as if we was at home in bed. Why a soldier has no right to be afraid. Why there is nothing but soldiers gone up and down in the cars to and from Washington day and night, regiment after regiment.
I received 15 dollars from John Ogden and I worked between 24 and 25 days for him. There was no agreement made as to what he should give me but he promised to give me the same as the rest received. I am very glad to hear that Allan is getting along so nicely. Tell Mary and Joseph to be good children until I come home. Give my respects to Mr. and Mrs. Whitam and all enquiring friends. I remain your affectionate husband, — Allan Quamby
Direct letters to Allan Quamby, Co. C, Capt. George W. Guss, 138th Regt. Pa. Vol., Relay House Office, Maryland
Letter 7
Dorsey’s Switch [Maryland]
September 25th 1862
Dear wife,
As you have not answered my letter that I sent last Sunday as week, I thought maybe you did not get it and I would write again. I am well at present and hope you are the same. We are still guarding the [Baltimore & Ohio] Railroad and it looks as if we stay here all winter.
Day before yesterday we got our shirts and blouses. We have not got the bounty yet but expect to get it pretty soon. We are clothed about as well as we can be now since we got our blouses. The nights are beginning to get cold now. Last night it was right cold.
I received your letter and the money sent me. I have sent two or three letters before this. I received 15 dollars from John Ogden and my time was 25 or 25 days and he will pay you the same rate as he paid before. I have not time to write much more. It is now sunrise and I want to send it this morning. Ferd. Seaman is well. But I must now close. Write soon. Remember me to all enquiring friends and to the children. I remain your affectionate husband, — Allen Quarmby
Letter 8
Dorsey’s Switch [Maryland]
September 30th 1862
Dear Wife,
I received your affectionate letter last evening and was indeed glad to hear from you. You say you would have written sooner but you heard that we had left. You must not believe more than half what you hear for I believe there is a great deal written home that is not true. We cannot tell how long we will stay here. We may stay here till next winter and we may leave tomorrow. We know nothing about it. I hope the war will soon be over as much as you do. I would love to be in the presence of my wife and see my children, hear little Allen lisp his father’s name, never to be separated till death. But if the war continues, I am as willing to stay and take my chances as anyone.
We are all doing very well. Only one man is sick in the company. Lieutenant Nieman went to Harrisburg last week to see about the bounty put is not back yet so I hope soon to be able to send you some money. I do think we were lucky in not getting into any battle for there were regiments that left Camp Curtin after we did that got in battles and had many killed & wounded. I saw some of my friends of the 51st yesterday on their way to Harper’s Ferry. Troops are going to Washington very fast and they are sending troops to Harper’s Ferry very fast. But we are still left.
We have very good clothing and we have very good living considering. But I think I will now close and bid you good night. I will be very glad to hear from you as often as you can write. My love to you and all enquiring friends. I remain your affectionate husband, — Allen Quarmby
Direct as before.
Letter 9
Dorsey’s Switch [Maryland]
October 4th 1862
Dear wife,
I received your letter day before yesterday and was glad to hear from you. I am well, hoping you are all the same. There is no danger of us ever getting in a battle as long as we stay here and I would rather be here than I would up at Camp Relay where six companies are encamped. We have more liberty here than we would if we were under the eye of the Colonel. 1 The Colonel would not let us out of the camp once in a week but here we can go pretty much wherever we please.
We have barracks to sleep in. The bunks are large enough for two to sleep in. One spreads his blanket down on the boards to sleep on and the other blanket serves for a covering. I bunk with Jesse A. Myers—a young fellow from Montgomery Square whom I never saw before but I would not trade my bed fellow for anybody unless it was you.
That money you got paid to you was right.
We have built ourselves huts to lay in when we are on guard and we have just as good quarters when we are on guard as we would have if we were in the camp. One company got sent into the camp for making depredations on neighboring orchards but our Captain told us we could stay here as long as the regiment stayed if we would not steal from the farmers. We have a pretty honorable set of fellows so I think we will not get into camp on that account.
Ferd [Seaman] is going to send his box on Monday but I don’t think I will send anything this time. But we must drill now so goodbye. Write soon. From your affectionate husband, — Allen Quarmby
1 Col. Charles L. K. Sumwalt was not long the colonel of the regiment. According to the regimental history, though “he was a very talented man” and “had some expewrience as a Minister of the Gospel,” he “became addicted to drunkenness and lost all sense of shame, honor, or manly dignity. HIs course of deportment became so disgraceful that charges were preferred against him…and he was found guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.” He was dismissed on 30 March 1863.
Letter 10
Dorsey’s Switch [Maryland]
October 20th 1862
Dear Wife,
I received your letter last week and was glad to hear from you. I am well trusting you are all the same. I suppose by what I wrote before you have been looking for the bounty. Well, I have been looking for it too but it has not come yet. The last day of this month we expect to get paid but we may be disappointed again. The nights are beginning to get cold and we have had several hard frosts. We are not as comfortable here as we would be at home but we have plenty of clothing to keep us warm and while we are on guard, we can build big fires to sit by.
We received today an account of the draft. We are all glad that they have drafted at last. I expect when they go, they will come by here as they can’t get to Washington on any other road. Tell the Bridgeport fellows that we will give them three cheers when they go past. Tell them to look out for the 138th when they get to the Relay and from there on to Annapolis Junction. I am satisfied of course that you got little Allen’s show awards when you did.
We are in our tents again now. They are pitched close to the barracks. There is five in a tent and we sleep close. I will give you their names—Amos Mitchell, Scott Markley, John M. Jones, and Jesse A. Myers. We go to meeting on Sundays and I have had it so far a great deal better than I had in the three months’ service. I am satisfied and like it a great deal better than I do in the mill. If I could be with you and the children, I would like it a great deal better.
We are going to get our new guns. The ones we have are very rough and not worth much. 1 It’s probable that we will stay here all winter.
But I believe I have written all that I know and so I will close with the hope of soon hearing from you again. I remain truly your affectionate husband, — Allen Quarmby
My respects to all enquiring friends, &c. Write soon.
1 When the regiment was organized they were issued old Austrian muskets which were almost worthless. When these were turned in, they were replaced by US smooth-bore muskets, 69 caliber. They carried these muskets until the spring of 1864 when they were issued the second-hand Springfield rifled muskets.
Letter 11
Dorsey’s Switch [Maryland]
November 2nd 1862
Dear Wife,
I received your letter last Friday night and was very sorry to hear that you and little Allen are not well but I hope that when you get this, you will be well. I guess you will get your pay as soon as it is collected. We haven’t got ours yet but we were mustered for pay last Friday so we may get it this week.
This is a very fine day. I am well hoping you are the same.
I must tell you of a fight we had the other night. Just after taps and lights out, we heard the report of three guns out on picket. We were soon out and marched off a double quick and when we got there we found that they had shot at a calf so the fight was over.
We sent Capt. Guss and subscribed his fare to go home to see about our wives getting the Relief. Some think you will get it this week—others don’t. But we expect to get our pay this week or next. I don’t feel much like writing today so I believe I will stop. Give my respects to all enquiring friends and write soon. I remain your affectionate husband, — Allen Quarmby
Ferd. is well except a bad cold and he can’t speak out loud.
Letter 12
Dorsey Switch [Maryland]
January 19th 1862 [1863]
Dear Wife,
I take this pleasant opportunity to write you a few lines to let you know that I am well and hope these few lines may find you the same. I arrived here last Tuesday safe. We have got no pay yet but we expect it every day. We have to go to the Relay House. We have to go on Regimental Review.
Mrs. Wightman’s ring is in this letter. I wish you would send me a small piece of sealing wax so I can finish the other rings. Make it flat so it ain’t too big in the letter. I would like to [illegible]…you must not send me a postage stamp in the next letter for I can get one here. We ain’t going to stay at the Relay House. We are ust a going to be reviewed.
It is very warm here today. It has been pretty cold here for two or three days but it has got pretty warm now again.
I would like to know what letters Sarah Kay wants in her ring for I will send hers next. Let me know in the next letter if you please. I bring my letter to a close for I have no more to write about. So I send my love to you and to all the rest of my friends. So this is all at present. This is from your dear husband, — Allen Quarmby
Write soon as you can.
Letter 13
Dorsey Switch, Maryland
March 26th 1863
My Dear Wife,
I take this pleasant opportunity to write you these few lines to let you know that I am well and hope these few lines may find you the same. I received your kind and welcome letter and was very glad to hear from you all. It is very cool here today. It looks as if it’s either a going to rain or snow. We have not got our pay yet but we expect to get paid next week for certain. The weather was very nice here for two or three days.
General Briggs was a coming to inspect us but he did not come so I guess he will come today. We have got our things all cleaned up for him.
I think we will stay here all summer. The Captain is getting his quarters all fixed up and they are a going to fix the branches too. We will either get paid the latter end of this week or beginning of the next. So there ain’t much news here just now. So I send my love to you and to all the rest of you. So I will have to bring my letter to a close for it is getting late. So goodbye but not forever. This is from your dear husband, — Allen Quarmby
Dorset Switch, Maryland. Write as soon as you can if you please.
Letter 14
Dorsey’s Switch [Maryland]
April 14th 1863
My Dear Wife,
I take this present opportunity to write you these few lines to let you know that I am well and hope these few lines may find you the same. I received your kind and welcome letter and was very glad to hear from you all.
It was very warm here today. It was like a hot summer day. We ain’t got paid yet but we expect to get paid to this week but we don’t know whether we will or not but I hope they will pay us this week.
We had a general inspection last week. Out Lieut. Colonel inspected us and he said we looked very well. There is some talk about us a going into camp but I don’t know how true it is. I will make them rings as soon as I can. I would like to be at home to help you to make garden but you will have to do the best you can. But don’t hurt yourself.
It is a very splendid evening this evening. There ain’t much news here just now so I don’t know what to write anymore so I will have to bring my letter to a close for I don’t know what to write about. So I send my love to you all. So this is all at present. So goodbye but not forever. This is from your dear husband, — Allen Quarmby
Write soon as you can if you please.
Letter 15
Headquarters Co. C, 138th P. V.
Relay House, Maryland
April 24, 1863
My dear wife,
I take this present opportunity to write you these few lines to let you know that I am well and hope these few lines may find you the same. I received your kind and welcome letter and was very glad to hear from you and to hear that you were all well.
It was raining all day yesterday and all day today. It is very wet and muddy down here just now. We moved into camp on the 22nd day of April and we signed the pay rolls as soon as we got into camp. We walked into camp and that was five miles. I was a little tired when I got into camp. We have not got our pay yet but we expect it every day but we don’t know what day it will come on. I wish it would come pretty soon.
We only stay into camp a week at a time. We have to go out every other week. We don’t like it in camp anyhow. We would sooner be out on the railroad.
There was another man died in the regiment. He died with the measles. They have sent him home. I am glad to hear that you have got the garden all dug and planted. I wish I could have been home to help you to fix the garden. i am sorry I couldn’t get home to help you.
They are a raising a big fuss here about the pay master. He ought to have been here six weeks ago. There is not much sign of anybody getting home. There can’t anybody get [furloughs] unless a case of necessity. There ain’t much news here just now. So I will send my love to you and the children. So I will have to bring my letter to a close for I don’t know what to write about. So this is all at present. So goodbye but not forever. This is from your dear husband, — Allen Quarmby
Write soon as you can of you please.
Letter 16
[partial letter, mid-July 1863]
Virginia. It looks to me as if the war would soon be over. The rebels have been greatly weakened by the capture of Vicksburg and their defeat at Gettysburg and now Port Hudson, Indeed the news is glorious and all we want is to get a fair chance at Lee when I think we will end the war and peace will once more reign triumphant in our beloved country, husband and wife will be again joined together, brothers and sisters, mothers and sons will again meet never to be separated except by death. God grant that such may be the case.
I would like to get a letter from you and hear how you are if I could but as we are moving nearly every day, I don’t know where you shall write to. Perhaps in a week or so we will get settled down and I will write to you and give you the directions. Till then, goodbye. I remain your affectionate husband, — Allen Quarmby
Spared & Shared 23 