October 3rd, 1864

Cairo, Illinois

Camp Cairo, Illinois

October 3rd, 1864

Dear Brother,

I recieved yours of sept 27th today and was glad to hear from you but I was somewhat dissapointed by not getting a chance to see you before you left Mound City. I recieved a letter from you yesterday by the way of home, your letter found me in good health and spirits and I hope this night find you the same, but I know you can't get well in a day or two, because you must be pretty sick, you have been sick so long but you don't say much about how sick you are but I hope you are not very bad.

I am on guard today, we have to stand guard about twice a week. We drill five hours a day, have a pretty good t-@Me generally. Levi Bump and I have been retailing apples for about two or three days and making our spending money. You wanted to know what kind of a reg we had. I will tell you as near as I can. Our reg has the best name here of any regt that ever stopped here. There is but few small boys in the regt they are most all men and about 9 tenths for old abe. As far as our Co officers, we have not got a second Lieut yet but our capt and I st lieut are such as will be thought a great deal by the whole company. We left Camp Madison the 17th of September, when we got to gaynes Mills we stoped two hours and every fellow went where he took a motion and se stopped several at several places the same way. We arrived at Chicago about 12 o'clock and camped until morning and then got aboard a train of cattle cars on the III central RR. One was two days and one night coming from Chi to this place. We had a bully time all the way through, a great many of us rode on top of the cars and had a bully time shooting our revolvers at dogs and geese along the road and everytitne the cars would stop the boys would pile off and run all over town and lots of them would be sure to cabbage something.

Levi Bump played a pretty good hand at that he can't be easily beat. I expect we will stay here all winter and maybe as long as war last but we don't calculate that that will be very long . I must close for this time so good by, write soon and oblidge your ever affectionate brother. Charles A Stevens to Edward B Stevens.