Dear Father and Mother I thought I would write a gain to let you know that I am well and hope this will find you the same. There is not mutch going on here now. we have come a bout.12.miles since I wrote. the night after I wrote the rebs left Marietta and went a bout .5.miles and then stoped. we followed them up on the.4.we advanced on them and drove there skirmishers in they opened on us with.2.or 3 batterys and shelled us like thunder all the after noon we had to advance through an open field a bout 1/2 a mile. they shelled at us all the time we wer crossing. they didnot

miss us over.10.feete if they had burst they would have killed half of the left of the regiment. the fuze was cut to long to hurt us we went like thunder and it was down hill and that is what saved us. there was not a man hurt crossing the field. I dont think there was but one man hurt and he was on the skirmish line he was hit on the head there was a blister raised a bout as big as a five frank piece it mad him lame for a day or so he belongs in company.E. There was lots of the rebs took. we must have taken.4.or 5 thousand prisoners in all since we left Marietta. Marietta is a nice place. we came with in sight of it. we came by the military institute [i.e., the Georgia Military Institute] that is close to the town. the.10.and.16.ware there as we went past they are now a bout.4.miles to the wright of us Bob Bell was

here yesterday. The rebs force here thay say are only 4600 I wish there wasnot half so many. we can see atlanta from here it looks like quite a place. I think our men will be there in side of 2. weeks. they say the next place they intend to make a stand is on cedar mountain that is .9. miles on the other side of atlanta I think if we could git them out of such places as Marietta we can git them off of that. some say we will have to take it by siege. I dont believe it I dont think there is any place but what we can git them off of we have so many more men than they have we can flank them. the nuse is here that Grant has ordered an un conditionnal surrender of Petersburg. I hope it is so. he must think he has got them allwright. if he spoils that army this one will never do any more good

for them. The boys are mostly well but for Frank [i.e., Sgt. James F. Fryrear, Co. K, 84th Illinois Infantry] and he is very sick he is down harted he has give up and he is gitting very bad if they dont send him back soon I am a fraid he will never see home he might have bin sent back if the docter had wanted to send him I hope he will git better but I dont look for it iff they dont do some thing with him soon. we have bin gitting lots of black beries. there is lots of boys that there mouths are very sore the beries dont seam to do them any a good I believe they will do the boys good to eat them. I believe I have wrote all I can think of it is so hot here that I can hardly write you must excuse this dry letter and write often to your hopeful in the army

H. H. Maley To, William M. Maley And E. A. Maley