[Letter] 1862 October 11, Camp near Elixandria [to] Mother [C.W. Rupert] / F. Rupert.

The letter is part of the Stuckey-Nunn collection of Civil War correspondence between Union soldiers (Joseph D. Richardson and Francis Rupert) and their families, as well as one letter from a Confederate soldier, William T. Bickham to his cousin; see additional letters from Francis Rupert in the collection.

Rupert explains that he has not written because he has been out on a scout under Brig-General Price, and responds to her earlier question about whether he had seen any of the boys from town including Mrs. Morrison's son. He asks her to specify which regiments they're in so that he can look them up. Rupert wishes he could come to the fair at home, sends greetings from Lloyd, and says that if he lives he'll come home next spring. Rupert served with the 2nd Regiment of the Pennsylvania Cavalry, 59th Volunteers which saw action in Northern Virginia, assisted in the defenses of Washington, and was present at major battles of the war including Antietam, Gettysburg, and the surrender of Lee at Appomattox Court House. Rupert became a POW and died at Andersonville Prison in Georgia on June 26, 1864; the overcrowded conditions there led to the deaths of 13,000 from disease, malnutrition, and exposure.