It is with pleasure that I take my pencil in hand to answer your kind letter and thank you for your present which I received on Sunday I am still at Harpers Ferry enjoying good health and in good spirits. And when these few lines reach you I hope they may find you well along with the rest of our friends We are quartered in a large brick house on boliver street said to be the best quarters in town We do our own cooking and washing sleep on the floor with a blanket for a bed And in short we enjoy all the privileges and luxuries of Soldiers I do not know exactly how many soldiers are stationed here but I suppose there is from five to ten thousand and we are expecting more there is now some 300 Kentuckians here and about 1800 expected There is some Georgia and Alabama troops expected here in a few days. A fort has been commenced on the Maryland heights and batteries are to be placed there and on the Virginia mountain point the rifle companies are to be stationed on the mountain and the light infantry are to stay in the Ferry I saw William Wright yesterday he has gone to the mountain he told me when I wrote to say that he was well and in good spirits tell pa I want him to send me some postage stamps as they cannot be got here for love or money I wrote home sunday but forgot to mention the stamps but I must close as Mr Arehart is about to start