Dear Parents,

I received your letter on the 8th and was very glad to hear from you.  Since I wrote you last, we have joined the cavalry.  We are with the First Brigade, Second Division of Cavalry.  We have been with them about a month.  We are at Warrenton, in winter quarters.  We have been on one raid since we were here.

We broke camp on the 1st.  There had been a great deal of rain before and the ground was very muddy.  You have no idea what Virginia mud is.  After a shower of rain, the mud is about 8 inches deep and sticks to anything, like tar.  It cleared up about noon and grew very cold.  Before night everything was froze as hard as stone.  It was so cold we had to dismount and walk most part of the way to keep from freezing.  We encamped near Orleans at night.  We built up big fires in the woods but we did not unharness and unsaddle so we were without blankets. We were nodding around the fire all night, with one side burning and the other freezing.

We started on the 2nd at daylight and marched through Chester Gap. We reached Front Royal at dusk.  We laid there over night and started in the morning through Manassas Gap. We encamped near Salem this night.  The next day we reached Warrenton.  It commenced snowing about 10 o'clock and snowed all day.  When we got to camp we had the snow to clear away and our tents to pitch on the frozen ground.  We had but 3 days rations and we were out 4 days. We were pretty hungry when we got back. We had hot I coffee and a loaf of bread, which we did justice to. It was the coldest weather we have had.  We suffered a great deal.  Some had their feet frozen.

It has been pretty cold since. It has snowed once since today. It thaws a little.  We have I stables to put our horses in. It is some little ways from camp. We have moved our battery near the stables and have commenced to build log shanties there.  The boys grumble some for leaving these, which are quite comfortable. It is evening now.  We have brick fireplaces and chimneys, which keep our tents quite comfortable.

The Rebs trouble our pickets considerably.  There is the 1st brigade of the 1st and 2nd Division of Cavalry at this place.  We are having pretty good times.  I think we shall make out to put in the winter very well.  I am well.  I have a slight cold just now.

I wish you would please send me some postage stamps.  We cannot get any here, except what comes from home. I should like to see you all very much but I will wait patiently for 7 months longer and I am in hopes I shall see you then. I shall not reenlist until my time has expired at any rate.  I don't think of much more to write so I will close. My love to you all.

Goodbye from your son, Mother,

Henry W. Brown

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Pvt. Henry Brown, Artillery,
Warrenton, VA, Jan 10, 1864 

Dear Sister Ada,

I thought I would write you a few lines.  I am glad to hear that you are all well. I am glad you like your school and to hear that you have attended so regularly. I should like very well to be at home to attend the singing school with you.  If God is willing, I hope to be with you next.  I suppose it would be rather lonesome there now with no young men.  Try and find out what regiment the boys go in so if they should come to this army, I can find them.

If there is any that have not left home yet, tell them they had better enlist in the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery. It will be the easiest and safest of any branch of the service.

Goodbye.

Gunners of the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery at Fort Richardson, VA.

Dear Father,

If there is any young men going to enlist about there, then I say they had better enlist in the artillery, in preference to anything else.  The 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery are having the easiest time of any troops in the field.  They will reenlist most of the men and will want some recruits.

Yours respectfully,