Centerville [Virginia]
May [11] 1863
My Dear Wife,
I am well as usual. We are having pleasant weather. There is no news here.
We have been cutting pine trees and setting them out in camp to sit under as it is quite warm in the middle of the day. We had baked beans for breakfast, rice and molasses for dinner, coffee and bread for supper. The sun it just setting. The wind blows cool.
The boys have gone to meeting. The officers officiate. ¹ I call it a mock so I will not hear their abuse. Their men won’t speak to them or use decent language if they do. Who wants them to pray for them. We had a minister the other day. He spoke well. He had been to sea some years.
There is no news from the army worth writing about. All is quiet.
Hope you got my last letter safe. At any rate, write me on receipt of them as soon as possible. Get the evening paper and read them and send me one once in awhile. Write all the news. Give my love to all.
— D. Brett
¹ A regimental history by Levi Wood Baker states that these religious services were held at Centerville in the rebel fort built in 1861. They were led by Lt. Christopher Erickson, considered the “spiritual leader” of the battery.
To the Front 