Dear wife i rec youre kind letter Mailed the.10th and was glad to here from you i am very glad to here every time that you are all well that gratifies me the most of any thing that i can here you dont tell me any thing about the hay i am afrade that you will not sell it till it will fall so that you will not get so much for it for you say that every thing is falling so hay must fall to but you know the best but when you can get a good strike then is the time to take it well Carrold [i.e., Pvt. Carroll L. Combs, Co. C, 14th New Hampshire Infantry] Came to the reg yesterday and three others dan hares [i.e., Pvt. Daniel Harris, Co. C, 14th New Hampshire Infantry] Dell Richerdson [i.e., Pvt. Delavan C. Richardson, Co. C, 14th New Hampshire Infantry] and Coats [i.e., Pvt. Darwin C. Coates, Co. C, 14th New Hampshire Infantry] to our co Carrolds finger is well he feels well i tell you

well our gunboat took a reb gun boat to day they sot out to come down the river and our boat fired into her and she serendered they took her in the rebs come in every day they are glad to get in to get somthing to eat they are done plaid out as the darkeys say they are dog ond tired of it well we have been relieved from deauty three days a go some say to go to Charleston but i dont think we shall go from here at presant well it is all in seven months well it is but fifty miles there well we was mustered again for pay the last day of feb that makes ten months dew to me which makes one hundred and sixty dos well the more the better at a time well i went to the express office to day to see if there was a box but none there for me

well the old man dont go to boston as much as he did when bill was with him does he how does he get along aint he well pickeled the most of the time this winter do they half live or does Alonzo help them i have not drank but one glass since i left the hospittle at Pheladelpha except what has been issued to us and have sold more then half of that i am temprate as to drinking smoking and going to bad houses well you will not believe that i supose but it is trew i have not been into a house in this city and have not smoked a pipe full of tobaco since the seder creak [i.e., Cedar Creek, Virginia] fite but Reuben smokes all the time he thinks it helps his tisic i dont think his tisic is bad

March 4th

well i rec another letter from you last nite mailed the twenty fifth of feb you ask me to write often i have writen as often as once a week since i have been here well you say the boys have let them selves to work to Mr Symons seven months for .1,82. dollars well that will doo but they aught to have .2,00. wages will bee hire then they was last year but i think Walter [i.e., the author's son, Walter William Combs, b. 1850] will work better with him then alone so i think they will lay up more to work togather tell them not to quarrel and see if they if they cant lay up more than Warren i know they can if they try they shall have it all and see if they wont have as much when they are twenty one as Henry has well good buy this from your husband

William Combs

this will start from Hilton head next tuesday