Written from the Camp of the 182nd New York Regiment, Petersburg, Virginia. Opens "Dear Cousin." Notes the receipt of her letter of June 20, 1865 and expresses himself pleased with the contents, particularly the lock of her hair. He wonders why she would think the hair he had sent was not his. He writes about her school and the weather as she reported it and asks her to fire "3 or 4 firecrackers or rockets for me, will you?" on the Fourth of July. He asks if any Rockland troops have returned home yet. A postscript again requests her photo.

Envelope postmarked at Washington, D.C., June 27, 1865. Addressed to "Miss Grace D. G[illson], Box 302, Rockland, Maine," some of the name being torn away.