Camp Dwight Brashear City LA

March 7^th 1863      

     

            Dear Deborah I will again commence a short letter to you and write it as my time will permit for I do not have much time to spare I have to write as I can get the chance

 

            I mailed a letter to you last Wednesday the 4^th it took me 4 days to write that so you may know that I have not much time to spare Wesly Drake & my self have 24 sick men to take care of in our ward we have to keep the room clean & give them all medicine 3 times a day and wash them & prepare their food for them & some of them we have to feed & we have to sit up with them every other night so taking it all to gether it keeps us prety busy all of the time But with all of that I am well & not dead with the consumption unless it is to consume food I live first rate here if there is anything good to eat the hospital has the first choice. I have a good bed to sleep on and a good room to sleep in when I do sleep which is every other night and pretty sound at that. we have it harder than they do in the other ward of the hospital for there they have seven to do the work & only about 10 more to do for than we have. The hospital is a large two story house I believe it was used for a tavern before the war and it is very good for a hospital building The government is a going to make this a military post and are a going to build a large building here for a general hospital the prospect now is that we shall be left here to guard the place We have five regiments here now and three bateries of Artilery & a lot of cavalry there is a fort building here they have some of the guns mounted now ready for action & they are large ones to the rebels come down here every few days with a flag of truce twice they have come down and ordered us to leave here with in 24 hours but we are here yet / What we need here the worst is good water the water is very poor we have to use water from the river or else use rain water the water in the river is very cold but it is as mudy as the canal water the rain water is clear but not so cold. we have had rain water all of the time here to use in the hospital it is much healthyer than the river water is I have not had a drink of what I call good water since I left Auburn It has rained to day all day and now we shall have plenty of rain water again

 

            I just got your letter last night that you wrote Febry 1^st it was on the mail ship that was lost a coming but the mail was saved but got very wet my letter had been well soaked I got your letter last Monday that had your Valentine in it is the nicest one that I have seen here I should have sent home one but they cost so much here (50 cents apiece) I could not afford to buy one lillys little bird I have got and you may tell her that I will keep it as long as I can tell her that Pa will kiss her for it when he comes home Tell Frank that Pa is very much obliged to him for the letters that he cut out and sent me I am very glad that he is so good a boy and learns so fast I will write him and lilly a letter before long I sent frank a paper a couple of weeks ago have you got it I guess that I have all of the Newark papers that you have sent me but I have not got any others from you tell lilly that I have not seen any robins since I have been here and not many of any other birds

 

            You wanted to know who I tented with when I was in the tent I had George Garlock of Newark and George Cook & Dan Gumore. Cook & Garlock are two of the best boys in the whole camp to tent with but Gumore is right the other way hes nasty and lazy as he can be we tried to get rid of him but could not so we made him eat by him self and keep his rations seperate the rest of us put ours all to gether and eat to gether 

 

            George Cook is as different here from what he was at Auburn as you can think there he was so wild and rash that it was almost impossible to get along with him now he is one of the most peaceable boys that we have kind and liberal to all you hardly even hear him swear but is always pleasant.

 

            I heard that it was reported at home that he was so sick that we did not think he would live it is not nor has not been so George & Nat Cook have both been sick but at no time have they been dangerously sick and not so but that they were in camp you may tell Mr Cook that they are both well and hearty and doing well and the boys all like them first rate You must give Mr Cook my respects & tell him that I will write him as soon as I can get the time to I thank him very much for his well wishes and would like to have him write to me if convenient for I like hear from any one there that is a man and I think he is

 

            There is several of our boys sick in the hospital Both of the Lake boys Jo Rush and Dan Gumore & some others that you do not know but they are all getting along and are gaining now finely

 

Sunday the 8^th

 I could not get time to finish this until this afternoon and now I will try and finish it now if I can I may be called away before I have written five lines

 

            There is nothing very new occurred since I commenced writing this except that Capt Potter has gone to New Orleans to try and get discharged he has been trying here with our doctors for four weeks to get discharged but the doctor would not give him one so he has gone to New Orleans to see if Gen Banks will not give it to him There has been four desert from our regiment since we have been here one was Seth Probasco and the others were from some other companies the last three went over across the river and gave them selves up to the Rebels thinking that they would parole them and send them home what success they have had I do not know for we have not heard from them since they crossed the river 

 

            Tell father that I wish he had some of the big fish that we catch here occasionally we have caught several cat fish here that would weigh from 25 to 40 pounds each they taste like a bullhead and are first rate eating we set a hook and line to a stake out in the river at night and in the morning are pretty sure to have one of those big fish fast to it they are about 2 feet and large enough through to make them weigh from 25 to 40^lbs

 

            I shall send you in this letter some orrang buds & blooms they are the sweetest smelling flower that I ever smelt of when they are out nice I wish I could send you a large bunch just as they come from the tree they are so nice and sweet pure white I will send you different kinds of flowers as I can get them to send or anything else that I think worth sending that I can send in a letter

 

            There is a good many of the Rebel that are a coming in our camp and giving them selves up to our forces day before yesterday there was two families came down the river with all of their goods that they could get away and 3 cows & 6 dogs on a raft towed down by two men in small boats and gave them selves up they said that where they came from they had to pay one hundred dollars a barrel for flour and could not get but a half barrel at that they were nearly starved they said the Rebels had 15000 men about 15 miles from here up the river but it seems that they do not attack us although we have but about 5000 men in all

 

            But, I must stop for it is supper time and I have to feed 26 men before I can get my supper write often and I will do the same I wrote in my last letter that I would like for you to send me 10 penny postage stamps if you can with out to much trouble

 

Yours as Ever

L. V. Tucker

 

[inner top margin upside down]

 

I have just the newark paper Feby 12^th it came in just as I finished this letter

SOURCES