Tortugas Island                      

Dec 16^th 1862 on board         

Ship Salvor

 

Dear Wife again I will write you a little and try to keep you informed where I am as much as I can being so far away from home

 

Well we are now alongside of the dock on Tortugas Island for the purpose of taking in coal again the second time since leaving New York. We have been 11 days in sailing from New York here and will be yet 3 or 4 days probable before we get to Ship Island where we have to get the voyage ought to have been made in 5 days clear through but it will be about 15 days in all on the watter. The voyage from Port Royal has been very unplesant the weather has been so rough / that we had to remain below decks there was hardly any men on board but what was sea sick some worse than others I was sick from friday til Monday So I did not enjoy my ride much. the fleet is very much scattered we are probably the last ship of the whole fleet that is not there are nearly there one left here yesterday morning it is probably there now We pased one of the vessels that had run aground yesterday on a coral reef off Key West (By the way these places that I mention are all on the coast of Florida) the men were all taken ashore the place that we lie at now is an island all made of coral there is a large fort covering the whole island some 11 acres it is called fort Jefferson it will mount some 400 guns / when it is finished there is now a large number that is now mounted and more that is lying here now waiting to be mounted. they say that it take 10 years to finish it yet. There is quite a number of families here inside of the fort that live here all of time. there is several cocoa nut trees that is growing here one of them I saw one green nut a growing they grow right on the body of the tree

 

            If I could get them home I would collect and send home some sea shells and coral there is some very pretty specimens here of all kinds

 

            here we have to pay very dear for every thing that is sold here

 

            We do not know yet where we are destined to go but probably to Galveston in / Texas. if that is the case we shall not have much fighting to do merely to garison a fort

 

            But I will write again soon as this is three that I have written since I left New York

 

Direct as I told you my other letters to me

Co A 160 Regt

N.Y.S.V.

To follow Banks Expidition

via New York City

 

write often

 

my Respects to all

L. V. Tucker

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