Letter from William Hardy to his wife, Sallie Hardy; 22 April 1862

              Gordonsville, Virginia 
April 22nd, 1862

My Dear Devoted Sallie,

Our whole command arrived here on the night of the 20th about ten o'clock after having made a forced march on the 19th of thirty-one miles through the rain with nothing to eat but raw meat and parched corn. You may think it incredible when I tell you that I fared sumptuously on parched corn and raw bacon and glad to get it. Talk of hardships. We have undergone the worse of them. We have now given up at least a fourth of Virginia and have orders to march tonight in the direction of Richmond. We will likely be in a severe engagement in a few days. I am poorly fitted for either a march or fight as I now have a fever on me [illegible] cold. I have not been dry until last night in [illegible] days, and it is very cold. I marched with my overcoat on, which you know is very heavy, and carried my blankets on my back. I do not tell you of these hardships my dear to give you trouble, but merely as an honest record of the campaign, for I bear up under these cheerfully. [Illegible] so many that suffer so much more than I do.

You [illegible] doubtless ere this heard of the Conscript Bill passed by Congress impressing us all in the service for two years. Thus you see I am into it anyhow. But don't you give yourself any trouble about it, my dear, as I will endeavor to bring things at right yet. I am now a candidate for lieutenant colonel of the Sixteenth Regiment, with fair prospects for election. How would you