Martinsburg Va March the 15th A D 1863

Martinsburg Va March the 15th A D 1863

Mrs Rachel Dunbar beloved Aunt it is with pleasure that i take my pen in hand to inform you how i am prospering i am sorry to have to tell you that i have not been very well for some three or four days but i think i will be fit for duty in a few days i recieved your (two words illegible) welcome letter last week and oh aunt i was very glad to hear that you and your dear family was well with the exception of the children having the whooping cough this i was sorry to hear but i sincerely hope that they will soon be well and hearty once more the weather this week has been very cold and wintery the health of our regiment is very poor at present but i think it will improve when warm weather comes i wish this cruel war was over and all the rebels hung higher than haman this is not a very amiable wish but i cant help it when i think of the precious lives it has cost and is still costing. This week we burried one of our messmates he was sick only about (one or two illegible words) with the typhoid fever He was a very stout young man and about 20 years of age his name was Samuel F. McLain i was detailed as an escort to help burry him with military honor and oh dear aunt it was the most solmn funeral that i was ever at the musicans went before the amulance came next with the corpse the escorts came next withtheir arms reversed and the rest of the company followed while the band played the dead march the escort fired three times over his grave and then poor Samuel was left alone in his lowly resting place there to lie till the resurrection morning when god shall bid his dust arise, and enter its eternal rest, and now dear aunt i want to tell you before i close that i often think of you and uncle George and the children and would like to see you all once more but if god has decreed that we shall never meet again on earth remember dear Aunt that i shall ever remember you as long as life and reason remains i dont want you to be uneasy about me for i have only a bad cold and i am taking good care of myself and i think i shall soon be well. i believe i have written all the news and therefore i shall have to close for the present but Remain your affectionate nephew until death David Close to his dear auntRachel Dunbar