Union soldier's war date letter written in German on patriotic letterhead, 4pp. 8vo., 'Camp Butler', Jan. 13, 1862. Pvt. William Kreyling of the 1st N.Y. Infantry writes his brother, in part: '...[I] see...you received my picture...the hard straw bags make one look old, and the skin is brown as half negro...the Miss Merrimac has shown herself again and has taken several fortifications away. ...just patience, she will soon be ours...We received orders to pack everything and as soon as she starts shooting at us, we go away so as not to sustain and damage, but should they land troops, we are to attack and kill those that come in front of us. As far as Yorktown goes, it goes very slow....the roads are very bad...' Some clean fold splits, else very good, with full transcript. On March 8, 1862, the regiment's fortifications were attacked by the Merrimac, the results unknown.