Dear Father & mother

I received yours of the 22 this morning and was very glad to hear from you for I have not had a letter from you in some time I had aught to have got out last week Lieut Smith went down after the mail this morning and there was a letter there and 3 cts due it was from you why they should charge 3 cts now I do not know for it is the first letter that has come in that way We are shutting up the gaps in the brest works to day things look as though we were going to stay a while but we may get marching orders this afternoon we cannot say

what will happen but let come what will I shall try and do what is right and I am in hope we shall see the state of Ohio by spring The Presidents Message will soon be in force and I say let it rip ahead Cyrus does not write very fast for I have not had but one letter from him I guess he does not want to go to war again soon does he if he does just tell him to come to the 100th Regt for we would like a few such boys What is the prospect of the war does it look as though it would ever end or not it seems sometimes as though it would and then as though it would not there are so many storys around

Camp that a person cannot tell anything atall about It is raining now and we are all in our tents we have been shutting up gaps and we have more of it to do after it quits I suppose it acts as though it was going to be cold again it has been pretty warm here for some time so that it was comfortable to be out and around It is going to keep up about all on guard we have to send out patrools every night to go and see whether any of the gurrillis are about we were all ordered out last night to load our guns and have every thing where we could lay our hand on them in the dark

I suppose it would excite some but it does not me atall they say old moran [sp. Morgan] is out near Lexington well I must close by saying good by for this time write soon give my love to all

H E Randall