Letter dated September 18th, 1864
Harewood Hospital Washington
Sept. 18th 1864 Ward 8
Dear wife Ett
Once more I sit down to write a few lines to you after waiting so long I have been waiting to see if we would not get pay we signed the rolls but have not got paid yet. Today is Sunday. I got a letter from you and Tom last Friday. Tom said that Ike had gone to camp and had taken Lib with him. Tom thinks Lib will make a good soldier if she only has some one to help her that is good for anything. He says they are all well there. I am pretty well now, only my back is lame. I think that it would be better if I was only to home. I am detailed now for a dresser in ward eight. I have about 12 wounds to dress in the morning and four or five at night. That is all I have to do but I think I shall stop it unless my back gets better before long. You wanted to know what I meant by the veteran reserve corps. Well I don't wonder that you don't know but that is the proper name for the Invalid Corps but here we call it the condemned Yankees or the diarrhea corps. I don't see any prospects of getting my discharge yet but there is no danger of my being sent to the front. I may get transferred to New York. They are talking of sending all the New York men home to vote. If they do I shall have a chance to come home for 10 or 15 days the last of next month.
There I can't think of any more to write this time. You must give my best respects to all the friends there. I hope if mother sends those things to Ireys folks she won't be too sorry for it. How I do wish I could come home this fall and take you away from there where we could be happy together wouldn't we be happy there. No more this time.
yours as ever faithfully
W.W.vanAmber
I will send you a ring that I made the other day. I have one like it with a diamond in the top of it. The diamond is real. See if you can guess what the ring is made of.