June 13, 1862
My dear Wife
I have been so very busy the last few days that I could not write. I am now enjoying quite an easy time considering what we have been doing. Our men were completely broken down. Our position is very pleasant and not much annoyed by the enemy. I begin to think there will not be any more fighting for some time unless we again make the attack, which we ought to do. Jackson is and will continue to walk into them. Gens. Whiting and J.B. Hood of Whiting’s Division went to him two days since taking two of the finest Brigades in the service with them. It left me in command of the Division, but being satisfied just at present with five Regts. I made arrangements by which Gen. A.P. Hill, to whom I had to report when getting here, relived me of all but my own Brigade which consists of over 5000 present and absent.
My dear I am so mixed in my mind that I cannot write. I am well, in good spirits and still in love with the finest woman in the world. I was delighted by your account of Turner’s health but sorry to hear that your son [Dorsey] was falling off. My dear I hope you continue well and hope Helen will be able to enjoy this fair weather. I am still anxious to have Frank, he is just the fellow for the position, the ornamental and agreeable part of my life.
I will write again tomorrow and more in full. You would be proud to see me with my new coat, plain but becoming. Let me know how Jake is getting along, and tell him not to forget my boots. Write often. God bless you all.
Your devoted Husband
Sources: William Hassler, ed., One of Lee’s Best Men: The Civil War Letters of General William Dorsey Pender (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1999). William Dorsey Pender papers, Southern Historical Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill. http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/p/Pender,William_Dorsey.html
