Home I again seat myself to pen a few lines

Manings plantation
Near Donaldsonvill L.A.
July 3th [18]64
Home
I again seat myself to pen a few lines to you in answer to yours of the 18th of June in which I found the dollar bill but I did not neede it for we got ower pay on the very day that I heard of poor Dars death[.]  I think that I have reseived every thing that you have sent me and I am very thankfull for the pains that you have taken But wished that the dollar had ben in postage stamps[.]  Well we musterd again last Thursday night and when we get ower pay again I think that I shall be able to send home $50.00.  Well Wedensday night after reseiving your letter we wer orderd out on a scout to pick up all the horses that we could find and press them into the survise [service][.]  we left camp about tennoclock and marched about 40 miles before daylight and then halted about 1 hour and then went on about 5 miles further and haulted and fed the horses 6 ears of corne apiece[.]  you better believe that we cauld [called] that pretty heard [hard] marching for this country for we rode severele [several] horses to death and others after they got back to camp wer so stiff that they could heardly [hardly] move.  But my horce came out all rite for he is as tough as a not [knot].  Well after we had fed and eat a cracker owerselves we started back to camp picking up every horce that we could find and we had to race thrugh the lots and over diches after them.  You better believe it was a heard sight to see the men[,] women[,] and children beg and plead for their horces.  Well we cep [kept] on all day and arrived at camp just [at] dark with about 200 horces and I was tiard [tired] enough for on the account of my good horce I had to runn through the lotts a much as more than eny one elce.  So I think that I rode over a hundred miles without being out of my saddle over 2 hours.  And then to cap the whole we found the regiment when we arrived under marching orders and we wer orderd to get redy to muster and then pack every thing and be redy to start at a moments warning[,] so that cep us buisey [busy] until about 11 P.M. and then I laid down to get a little rest on my bunk and soone fell a sleep and never woke up until brawd [broad] daylight[,] so we did not go that night neether [neither] have we gon yet and like nough we shall not move at all.  but the talk is that if we do move we shall eather [either] go to Baten-Roush [Baton Rouge] or Mobele, [Mobile] Alabama so you can address your letters to New Orleans L.A. and they will finde me wheir ever I be.
Well I have not much more to write but I am very thankful to you for the kind letters that you have written and hope that you will continue to write as often as you can[.]  I am also very thankful for the good advise that you ever put in your letters and will try and act acordenly [accordingly] to the best of my ability and I hope that you all will try at home and worke to make every thing pleasant and try and have a hapey home. 
Well I suppose that I aut [ought] to write to the girls but I canot think of any thing to write to them for I put every thing in the letters that I can think of but I will try and write to them next weeke[.]  tell them I am very thankkfull for the kind letters that they write and hope that they will continue to write and they must be good girls and help you all they can and not quarell but do every thing plesantly.  No more this time from your son
J.R.S.