21st in a series.

Edwin’s letter to “Friend Mary” continued…

We have three lines of pickets between our camps and the enemy. We have to go on picket every other day…. He advances so that he can see the movements of the enemy, and at night we are advanced farther so that the outposts of the two armies is so close to each other that we can hear them whisper. Every morning at 4 o’clock every man in camp and on the reserves have to be up and stand under arms till daylight. There has been a good deal of cannonading for the last three days and nights more than usual. We have to take our regular turn at everything here in the army at work, guard and cooking and it happens to be my turn to cook now for the first time since I got back. I commenced yesterday. It is a business I don’t like but I manage to get along.