Dear Parents Brothers & Sisters
        It is with pleasure I seat myself to write you all a few lines to inform you that me and Cummings are well hopeing when these few lines comes to hand they will find you all well. we are now in cam in a pine bottom about too miles below petersburg. we left drewrys bluff christmas eave and marched to Petersburg about 20 miles. We took our christmas at Petersburg. Cummings myself & several of the boys went to a show in Petersburg christmas night it was right smart amusement to us. we got as many cake & pies as we could eat. Thoug I would much rather been at home. where I could of enjoyed myself in any way I could wish to. between hear and Petersburg the is a long string of Brestworks & between Petersburg and Richmond their is another string of brest works well put up and extend both ways as fare & farther than you can see. I looks to me like we was just makeing a commencement toward fighting. It looks strange to be marching along the rod and see fine plantations all ditched & throwed for brest works it looks like ruining a plantation but it is of great profit our army it dont look to me like the enemy could ever rout us from behind such brest works as these are. I don't know but I don't think their is much expectaton of a fight down hear shortly though the enemy isnt a great ways off They are at what they call the blackwaters. We have a new General we have lost our old favorite General Martial. Our new General is Colston I dont know where he is from nor any thing about him more than he is a small spairmaid spritely looking man he is middle aged brave looking fellow. I dont think he has got any more sense than to fight. he isent as pleasant & mild looking as our old general we used to have. we haven had our tents since we left Richmond it is driseling rain to day my paper is getting so wet I can heardly write I dont know when we will get our tent Though I expect we will get them before long. The weather has been very mild every since we have been down hear. The boys are all cuting pines trying to fix them a shelter. their is nothing hear but pine, oak timber is very near a scarse hear as pine is their. Ma I am very sorry that I dident get to send you and Pa them pipes I got them as I went through witheville but never had any chance to send them to you. we have very good beds down hear we rake up pine leaves and fix us a bed equal to a feather bed. I havent heard from Rieves since I left home want you to write and let me know where he is the reason I headed my letter all of you more of you has ever written. I thought it would be better to head it all of you then their wouldent be any of you slited and I would stand a better cance of getting an answer. we have all been vacinited it is said the smallpose are very bad in Richmond. Charles M Browning is as well as common and seems very well satisfyed Martha you and sarah must write it has been two weeks since I left home & I have never heard from their since this is fine time for shucking cut up corn I feel like I ought to be at home helping get the corn up. It is droping rain so on my paper I will have to bring my letter to a close write soon and let me know whether James has got well or not more at present
to Pa, Ma, & all the rest
Charles H Gilmer
& Cummings