The last battle frightened the selectmen has offered to pay four hundred to the drafted man
Author
Recipient
Date Written
Feb. 20, 1865
Member of Series
Eliza Davis Penly was 45 years old when this was written.
The recipient, Joseph Albert Penly, was 24 when it was received.
Eliza Davis Penly died 42 years, 3 months, 16 days after writing this.
It was written 158 years, 9 months, 18 days ago.
It was a Monday.
Milton
Feb 20 1865
Well Alfred,
We got your letter of February the fifth last night. I hasten to answer it. I wrote too you three weeks ago, we are all well, but Herby he has been quite sick, but he is getting better. There is no news, but steady cold weather and deep snow. About all the people are a doing up this way is chopping their firewood,
The Peace Commissioners did not amount to anything by going to Washington. The papers say we have to have six months more of hard fighting before we have peace. Milton pays 300 hundred dollars to the drafted and Portland 350. We don’t know as yet who is drafted for Milton Selectmen have been coaxing your father for sometime to go and he is atalking all the time about it. But I tell him to stay to home till after planting and then go if he wants to. I see no way for him to go as the prospect is I think he will time enough.
Tuesday morning the 21st
We got your last letter Sunday night dated Feb the 7th and your father sent to the pond Monday and got your watch. It came all safe. The Draft don’t come off till the first of March. The last battle frightened the selectmen has offered to pay four hundred to the drafted man. There was a man at the Pond yesterday to hire men to go to Washington to work on government work the pay 50 dollars [?] think it is the best for him to stay at home till after planting and then he can go if he wants to go. There will be work enough eny how. The coming summer I don’t want him to go to war. I should much rather he would go too war to for the government after planting, so you write to him what you think it is best for him to do. You know something about how the work is.
Take god care of yourself and write soon.
This is from your,
Mother
Scans of Letter
