Dear Diary,

Been a long time since I wrote anything, but to tell the truth, there
hasn't really been much in the way of news.  Camp life has settled into
a boring - and I mean boring - routine.  Reveille, police call, drill,
roll call, more drill until late in the afternoon, then another roll
call and we're free to do what we want until lights out.  Most of the
boys spend their time reading or writing letters home, maybe visiting
the other units here in camp, or playing horseshoes.  I regret to say
that many have become addicted to cards and dice - there's games of
chance almost anywhere you look.  Rubs my Baptist upbringing the wrong
way!  As for me, several of the boys in my squad like to sing, so we
spend a lot of our spare time singing "John Brown's Body", "I Dream of
Jeanie" and the like.  

We got a couple days old copy of the Cincinnati Enquirer here in camp,
telling about the disaster at Bull Run, in Virginia.  Seems as though we
had the Rebs on the run, but they got reinforcements at the last minute
all the way from Harper's Ferry, coming in by railroad.  By the time it
was all over, our boys had made it all the way back to Washington, DC. 
Now everyone is worried that the Rebs will move on the capitol, and the
war will be over in a matter of weeks.  I don't think so - one battle
doesn't end a war, but I do think this is going to last a bit longer
than the 90 days of our original enlistment.

We're still in camp, waiting for the regiment to fill up.  We were
supposed to move a couple of weeks ago, but then we had a regular
epidemic of, of all things, measles!  Half the company was down sick at
one time!  Most of the boys are better now, although some had to be
discharged home.  Two died - without ever seeing a single Reb.

I expect we'll get marching orders soon enough, though.  Probably,
they'll move us down into Kentucky.  That state is really hit or miss -
could go either way.  There's been a lot of fighting down around
Bardstown and Hodgensville, mostly between irregulars.  I doubt ole Abe
will want to see his own state in rebellion, if he can help it.

Time to close - looks like a game of baseball starting up.