Topics include picket duty over New Year’s, being stationed in a house well suited to his needs, cavalry unit having had a scrimmage nearby, mentions the death of General Kearny at Battle of Chantilly, Virginia, Sept 1, 1862 (Northern Virginia Campaign), the depleted and devastated area in which they are encamped, forests gone, Union burned many of the "splendid barracks" the Rebels had used.