8 February 1863

White Oak Church
December [February] 8th 1863

Dear Father,

I received your letter of the 3rd today. I was glad to hear that my money had got home all safe. I have sent $10 since & will enclose the same in this letter or the next. It seems as though there was more due me that I had an account of but as I have burned all your old letters so that I have not those to refer to. Have you paid  Edwin? It seems good to know that there were some besides relatives who enquire after a soldier. An old soldier knows by sad experience what it is to have a friend.

If you have sent me the receipt for that express box, I have not received it. Money must be plenty with you for you seem to be loaning a good deal. I should be happy to meet Barber on my return but there are several long months to pass before we shall meet without I get a furlough which I do not think I shall try very hard to get. Why does not Mr. Barber write to me?

Some of our boys have been down to the 137th [New York] Regiment but I cannot afford to walk ten or fifteen miles to see anyone there. The Orderly was not sick long. We were going to have a fight you remember.

I have a little private business that I will write to you but hope that you will keep it still. While in camp there are some rations which we do not eat, but could not do very well without when on the march. This sometimes amounts to a nice little sum which the regulations say must be placed in the captain’s hands or someone that he may appoint. We are now considered as in camp (winter quarters). Yesterday Captain sent work to me by the First Sergeant that he wished me to keep an account of the rations not drawn & also to keep the money. This I did not like to do as there are so many to please where you have company money that I did not want to be bothered with it. The Orderly said, “Well Capp says you are the most honest man in the company &c.—that you are honestier than he is & that he wants you to take it—that the boys will be better satisfied with you than any other man, &c. &c.” But I thought that I would go & see the captain myself so I did. I told him what his orderly said & told him that I would rather he would get someone else—that perhaps I could not do it satisfactorily. He said he would risk that & that he would rather I would do it.

So I told him that I would try it & told him my plans, what I thought, &c. We talked and laughed some when he said, Charlie, I spoke to the Colonel the other day about sending on for a commission for you if there were any vacancies. But he said he had not much influence with the Colonel. He said something about the other Lieutenant that had been made out of the company all of which were elected to a non-com office before we left Ithaca. I thanked him & told him that nothing would suit me better if he thought me worthy & competent of the former. He said there was no one more so & the latter he would risk. I told him that if I had been home last fall I could have got one but that I preferred to get one in my old regiment if anywhere—that there were not many of the old soldiers that would reenlist. The thought the same. I told him that I had rather be at home going to school.

We then got to talking about his not getting Major ship. I told hi, I was sorry that he did not get it but that I would not like to have him leave the company. He said he had sent in his resignation but that it was disapproved all the way through but he had sent it again & had got the Colonel to sign it. He said he would not serve under him (the Major) if it were but two days. I told him I was very sorry that  we had but a few months more to stay & that we had been together over 20 months through rough times &c. That is about all the conversation.

After we lost our Major, the officers got together & nominated Capt. for to fill the vacancy as it belonged to him. He was the oldest commissioned [officer] but one of the other captains got his commission first through friends in New York. I do not blame the captain for resigning. I think Captain Whitlock has more influence with the Colonel than any other Captain in the regiment.

You ask me if I expect promotion. Yes, if I can get it honorably but probably Gov Seymour will send some soft-fingered Lieutenant to fill up vacancies. Our time is most out. Do not let this get out.

Respectfully, — Chas. E. Bradley