Dear Father

I recd yours of the 8 & 11 yesterday and was glad to hear that you were well and the rest of the neighbors I am well and so are the rest of the boys that you know We mooved from Wildcat yesterday There was quite an accident happened to one of our Company yesterday morning by the name of Silas Bowerman [i.e., Pvt. Silas P. Bowerman, Co. H, 100th Ohio Infantry] he was on picket and was fooling with his gun and shot his left hand so that he had to have his thumb and fore finger taken off and the day before one of Comp B shot his so he had to have 2 of his cut off the midle ones of the left hand that is the 7 or 8 that has been shot in the Regt accidentaly and it is about time it was played out as us boys Those stamps came though all right

About that box that Metts sent all that was in it belonged to him I sent an overcoat before that directed to Joel Brigham with some more of the boys and them were marked there was an overcoat blanket and a pair of buckskin gloves I sent them with D Kessler H Harrington N McManus [i.e., Cpl. David Kesler, Pvt. Henry J. Harrington, Sgt. J. Neal McMinnis, all Co. H, 100th Ohio Infantry] and Jessy Miley so if you have not got any of those things you had better enquire of Joel about them the mark was written on a piece of paper and pined on to the things all but the gloves and them was not marked so you can easily ferit them out if you are a little particular about it the The boys are in good spirits for they are giveing furloughs in the regt there is 4 out of the company at a time for 21 days absence

from the Company

May 18th Early in the morning

I will try and finish this now before I leave it the names of them that are going home Sergt J. Neil McManus he goes in Isaac Metts place they offered him one and he said that he did not care any thing about one as long as his wife and family were well but if I had been in his place I should have accepted of it at once
There is no news of any importance that I hear of late I wis the Goverment would get up something exciting and I am in hopes they will soon for I am geting tired of this lay still so long while only a few are busy well I must close so good by for this time Except my love

H E Randall