Virginia Military Institute
Lexington, March 10th
My Dear Ma & Pa
I received your letter a few days ago & was very glad indeed to hear from you & to hear that you were all well. I have no news to tell you only that I am well and [hearty] & am getting along very well in my studies. I have no news whatever to tell you. Lexington is very dull indeed at present. Well old Abe has taken his seat. I wonder what will be done now. I suppose Virginia will either have to go North or South now, there is no choice to save the Union so she might as well secede now as any other time. The convention in Richmond is not doing anything at all now but they will have to do something now & that pretty soon. I hope Va will secede.
Well we will all go to squad drill tomorrow. There are over two hundred cadets here now. We have four Companies, A.D.B.C. There are one orderly sergeant, & 3 company Sgts. in each company. They divide each company up in 4 squads, the orderly Sgt. has first pick & he always picks the best soldiers. My orderly Sgt. picked in his squad. The Orderly Sgt. & Captains always make the Corporals out of this squad. I think I stand as good a chance for one as anybody else.
I have got father letter to write yet tonight and a long lesson for tomorrow therefore I have not got time to write any longer. I have written this letter very carelessly & fast you will have excuse me this time, & I will take more pains the next time. I am very much obliged to you both for the money you sent me. Cousin Ellen & family send their love to you all. Write [to] me something about your overseer—where he is from & how he does & where does he live, at home or up the Creek. Give me a general description of him. I must write to Capt. tonight. I cannot get either of my sisters to write to me. It makes me feel very badly, I suppose they have both forgotten me & forgotten that there is any such person living. I write to both of them but they won’t write me. I suppose I will have to stop writing. Give my love to both of them when you write to them. Give my love [to] the Capt.ain & Orderly Sergt Coffee. My respects to all the neighbors. If Va secedes they will send us all over the state to drill recruits. Write soon. Excuse all mistakes as I have written this letter in five minutes.
Good Bye
From you Son
A.C.L. Gatewood.
Image from Facebook, National Park Service, Manassas National Battlefield Park