Letter dated August 24th, 1864
Harewood Hospital
Aug. 24 1864
Dearest of earth
Once more I sit down to write to you to send the glad news to you that I am quite well. At present my health improves every day. If I could only be to home with you I would be soon as well as ever. I don't know yet what they will do with me yet.
The doctor we have got now don't say much to me only you are wounded through the lung I say yes how do you feel today not very well my back and side is some lame and that is all some days he don't speak to me at all. Yesterday I went over to the soldiers home. It is a fine place. I will send you a picture of the principle place. The large building is the soldiers home. It is a white stone building where the old worn out soldiers that has no home can go and stay. The other building is the house where old Abe lives. To the left of them is two more white stone houses not seen in the picture. It is a very nice place back of the buildings is a burying ground where the soldiers are buried that have died around here since the war began. It is a very nice place. There is over nine thousand graves there. The other picture is of this place. It is a period picture. On the left there is two wards that stand even. The second one is the one that I was in when I came home. I am now in one of the tents in the row that the water tank is in, and that building way back there where the flag is is the soldiers home. There I have told you all I can by writing but if I was there I could tell a good deal more. I got your kind letter and was glad to hear from you but was sorry to hear that you was working so hard. You must not do enough to hurt your self. You said you was afraid I was not as well as I wrote but I am quite well. I can tell you only that I have to play some off to stay here and I won't go to any regt as long as I can help it and if I am I shall get in the invalid corps and almost all the boys here says they never will send me to the front. No more this time.
Yours ever
W.W.vanAmber