General Hospital

Brashear City April 14^th 1862 [sic]

 

            Dear Wife                   I have just written a letter for French and I thought that I would write a few lines to you and put it in with it so that you may know I am still well I recd a letter from you a few days ago that had 10 one cent stamps in I am very glad that you sent them to me for I wanted some very much I should have answered yours sooner but I have been very busy and when I could write I have been writing for the sick boys

 

            I got at the same time that I got your letter one from Eliza and Cate they were well when the letter was written Since my other was written there has been a quite a battle just above here our Regiment was a head and charged bayonet on a Rebel battery and took it with out the loss of a man on our side they took about 125 prisoners that / has already been send down here and the prospect was this morning that they would get the whole of the Rebel army some nine thousand for they had them nearly surrounded we had 10000 men in their rear and about 20000 in front so the chances was that they had them safe our folks took the iron clad gun boat Queen of the west that the Rebels took from our folks at Vicksburg a short time since and they drove them from the fort that they had built and took their guns in General Weitzels Brigade (our Brigade) there was 5 men killed and 17 wounded in the other division there was one killed and two wounded but what has been done since last night we have not heard there has been some heavy firing there since then and perhaps quite a slaughter on both sides I have just heard that in addition to the Queen of the west we have taken three other gun boats one of them loaded with some 200 rebel wounded 

 

Monday Morning April 20^th 4 Oclock

            Since I commenced this it has been four days as I have been so very busy that I have not had time to finish it until now so I can tell you a little more and but a little more about our boys We have had about 40 wounded brought here the rest has been taken to New Orleans there has none of our boys come in wounded yet although they have been fighting a goodeal since they left here they are now about 80 or 90 miles above here near the Red river at the last account there was but 2 killed and about ten or twelve wounded among them was Lieut W. J. Vandusen wounded in the cheek and one ear nearly cut off and Darius Lake a flesh wound in the leg I also heard that John Vandusen was wounded in the calf of the leg slightly but I do not know as it is so for I have since heard it contradicted I do not know whether I shall be allowed to go up to the regiment or not but I shall try hard to go for I want to see the boys 

 

            We had 8 wounded rebels brought here and and among the rest was a Captain he was wounded in the head and was crazy all of the time until he died I had to put him in the coffin and so I got the five dollar bill that I send you in this letter it is genuine Confederate money

 

It is like the Rebel Confederacy a piece gone out of the midle and patched up on the back

 

            I have got two letters from you since I wrote last and I will answer them in a day or two

 

            We lost one of our boys from Co A in the hospital here Sat it was Robert Broughton he worked for John Haight last summer he died with the diptheria his folks all live in England he was a very fine boy and well liked

 

            But I shall have to stop or the musquetoes will eat me nearly up write often and I will do the same

 

yours as Ever

L. V. Tucker

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