11 oclock & alls well
U.S. Sanitary Commission.
Saint Johns College Hospital Annapolis
Maryland Feb. 23
My Dear Wife, Father & Mother
A few lines informing that I are a prisoner no more
thank god for that & that he has spared my life through it all for I think I can say truly I have seen some Hardship
but I will not undertake to tell you aything about it in a letter wait till I get a furlough which I shall be able to do in 6 weeks time I think it will not take longer than that anyway they give all paroled men a furlough now - so I are sure of one & I hope to find all my Dear friends alive & will I are anxious to hear from you all & you must write immediately & let me know all the news that you can possibly think of who is dead who is who married who is born where is Alfred & John & where is Tom Padgham & where is the 14th H. Artty May I never more see it How all the folks are has father sold His Hops how much he got & Every thing you can think of tell Ed & Eliza to write give my love to all I will write to Hatty myself I got a letter from fannie Dated Nov 23rd is the latest I heard from you I sent you a letter Dec 16th was the last I wrote you
Now you must not think because I are in a hospital I are sick I are not sick but I are reduced by starvation & Hardship to a skeleton almost some say I will not weigh over a hundred pounds but I guess I will a little more than that but I feel well only of course I are weak but I could not be in a more comfortable place if I was at home last night was I think as comfortable a night as I ever spent we got here yesterday & they give me a chance for a
good warm bath & then clean clothes & then anice soft bed in a comfortable room with anice fire in & three other beds in that is all & we 4 men dont know how to take comfort Enough & they give us good nourishing food here & that is all is wanted to fetch us up it is not medicine I want it is good grub an article the confederacy is destitute of Entirely
the poor miserable wretches they are worse than barbarians they are capable of doing anything inhuman & low lived & mean but I will stop for this time write soon Direct
Charles H. Austin
Saint Johns College
Hospital Ward 18
Annapolis Md
P.S. I guess you may let Hatt know I are paroled alive & well I wont write to her then good by
god bless you
I shall get pay in about a week
(in pencil) mouchley died in Hospital in Danville Fannie I got aletter last summer saying you had sent me your likeness but I never got it if was a photograph & you have got another send it in your letter but dont get any taken on purpose
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