Will Fisher to his mother
Camp Stoneman
February 19, 1862

My own Mother,

I think it is about time for me to write again.
It is mud up to our knees again here. It beats all I ever saw. The mud answers for snow. It is continual mud all winter. I should hate to live here in the winter.
We had an exciting scare here the night before last. It was the night that we heard of the capture of Fort Donelson. The band came out & played & marched all around the camp & the whole regt. followed them around, officers & all, cheering & yelling, & then we marched to the Colonel’s & called him out & he made a speech, & the band playing & the men cheering. I tell you, it made me feel well. I think if those victories keep coming we will soon be home.
About disbanding, the bill has passed Congress to have the 78 regts. of cav. sifted down to 50. That is, the best men picked out & consolidated in regts. I think this will be done about the first of March.
It will be payday about the 10th of March. Again they begin to talk about again I will have about 26 dollars coming to me. How much do you think I had better keep? How much did you pay that I borrowed of Jim Esmon? I want to have an interview with him when I come home.
Nelson & I went over to the 22nd the other day. We went last Friday & came home Sabbath day. It snowed all day Saturday. Friday we went to Alexandria. We went to the Marshall House where Ellsworth was killed. I got a piece of the wood. I sent one piece to Uncle Nat’s folks. I will send you a piece which you can put in my cabinet up stairs. The house is torn to pieces, most for relics.
I wish you could be here & see some of the sights, & see the forts over the river. We went to the Fifth Vermont Regt. where Tommy Taylor is. He cooked us a good dinner of beef steak. We got home quite tired.
I will have to wait some time before I can go out again. Last night the Col. & Major got into a fuss with the dutchman that they board with. He got drunk & began to swear the Col. & Major & was going to shoot them. You see the Col. & Major board there & it is outside of the lines & dutchman butchers for the government over the river, gets 100 dollars a month & comes home once a week drunk & he was going to get the horses, but they got the police & he took him to jail.
You must excuse the mud on this sheet for it dropped in the mud & onto Nels’ muddy boot.
The man that got shot the other day is living & is going to live. There was no man shot on guard in our company. I don’t have to stand guard any more. Nelson is on today & it rains hard.
But it is mail time & I must close. Love to you and Aunt Sarah. Good Bye.

Your boy, Will