| Summary: | In the first letter, written November 17, 1863, Mary Ann sends her sister family news, mentioning the death of one son and the military service of another. She also alludes to the "flag-of-truce" system for delivering mail between the North and South, in which correspondence was read by censors: "I am so pleased to have an opportunity of writing you a sealed letter. I sometimes think it is only an aggravation to write just one page and that for the public eye." In the second letter, written April 28, 1864, Mary Ann explains to her father that she began writing eight months before but did not have a chance to send the letter. She sends news of her son, Alex, who is in the Confederate army; she worries that he will die as her other son did ("Alex K is very tall and thin and it will not surprise me if he goes in the same way that Edward did") but admits that "His army Life evidently agrees with him and he may live for many years." She also mentions that the family is doing well at home: "We have never suffered at Portland for any thing. I have Tea Coffee Flour sugar &c enough to last me two years now. We have eight Cows plenty of milk and butter Bacon and Beet ect [sic] And I have all the clothes I need for two or three years - for once I have looked out for myself." A transcription is included.
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