Coit, Charles M. (1838-1878) to his mother

Wed. Evening Nov. 13, 1861. Dear Mmother, Yours dated 9th rec'd this P.M. with excisions from Bulletin. Your letter received soon after dinner & I never feel settled & ready for work until they are fully digested they supply my dessert & certainly no pies & tarts could take the place of a letter from home. They do not come quite regularly but if I miss one day I generally get two the the next. I dont know why you think I care nothing or next to nothing about your letters you would never say so again if you could see us as we greet the Post man & this evening I stay in my tent writing home rather than attend a patriotic meeeting now being held round the camp fires & as I write can hear the clapping & the cheers but what do I care for here I am talking with the dear ones at home how I do wish I could see you all & yet I dont think I am what you call home sick. I only want you all with me to enjoy what I enjoy but I must say since leaving Jamaica we have passed several days that I did not want any friend with me. Geo. seems to be very busy. I hope he will do well at the Exhibition. when does it come off. Hope Geo. stands well in his classes this time. how does his training company get along. I wish Ellen & Geo. would write oftener. I did not get a letter yesterday recd the paper which I suppose you intended should supply the place but it didnt. Sorry Daly's telegram cost him so much for nothing but I cant refund him certainly before I get paid off & I pray it may be soon I want to send some money home. I think Dr. Chapin ought to be invited to repeat his "faint yet presuming" sermon for Bobbie crawford? I had not thought of baked beans until you mentioned them in your to days letter, what a big plate full I could eat if I had them here. I should like to sit down in a nice chair comfortable room & eat our meal I dont believe I should be willing to get up from the table at all. There is a nice eating house in town where I used for the first two or three days to get about one meal a day that I really enjoyed every thing nice & clean & plenty of beef steak oysters ham bread & first rate coffee, at fifty cents a meal the keeper did not make much out of me you can depend. You write you hope I may have a good Sabbath. I was at work on a monthly report a large part of the day so with Guard mounting in the morning & Dress Parade in the afternoon I had but little time to myself until evening. we had however a short service before the Regiment in the afternoon which I attended. In the evening I wrote you I am now getting along with my work so as to see daylight through. Since we have been here I have not attended a single Battalion drill. In building stoves my tent has been all topsey turvy & when I have to write it is so inconvenient a position that is is necessarily slow work. I have completed my monthly report & delivered it to the Asst Adjt Genl this morning but this afternoon I recd a note from him enclosing a blank return which he wished me to complete immediately that he might send to Washington, & this evening he sent up a special message wishing to deliver it to - morrow morning - whether he has made a blunder or wishes another report I dont know, I shall ride down & see him tomorrow early. He is a green hand & is only acting in that capacity & makes some mistakes. he is really our Brigade Surgeon & has had little experience in strictly military matters. if he wishes a new report it will hinder me considerably in my work. I shall enclose an exact copy of the countersign which I delivered to the officer of the day, to day all sealed & directed it is folded in this particular way so that the lines cannot by any possibility read it without breaking the seal. They are sent to us from Head Quarters with countersigns for a week & I make one out each day for our officers of the day, so I always know the countersign & could pass anywhere over the whole Division at night. Rap tap tap goes the Tattoo at my door a dozen drummers & fifers playing & as it will continue for ten minutes & again in the morning at 6 oclock Reveille. It is not fortunate I have not weak nerves or a hard headache. All the calls during the day are made at my door & I usually like to hear them we have some fine drummers they roll it out grandly. The band for the 10th (they are encamped in the lot with us) came to day & it made our boys quite mad to think white had cheated us out of ours. There were several wishing to gain bands for us but Harland gave preference to white & the result is our band is minus I believe all the other Regiments have them I should think the state of Connecticut might pay for ours if the U.S. will not but of course they Will not. I truly