General Hospital        

Brashear City L.A. April 22^d 1863

 

                        Dear Wife       I will again commence a letter to you although I do not expect to finish it to night for together with attending the sick and fighting mosketoes it occupies nearly all of my time the mosketoes so thick here that it is almost impossible to live after dark in the morning here the walls of the rooms are nearly black with them the only way that we can manage to sleep nights is either to cover all up or have what is called a mosketo bar they are made of a very thin cloth and wove very open but not enough so that the mosektos can get through but enough so that the air can circulate through good they are hung up about two feet high over the bed and hang down all around over the edge of the bed I have one over mine and every man has one they are furnished by the government and returned when we are done with them but I think I shall bring mine with me home

 

                        Well I still remain well and as yet no signs of the consumption, although I get pretty tired

 

some times yet I keep my courage up and stick to it I see that I have skipped one line the mosketoes have bothered me so much but I will fill it up when I get the rest full

 

Your letters that you commenced March 15^th and the one of the 25^th I have got and was glad to get them for I wanted to hear from home and to know how you and the children were getting along this spring and if you do not suffer for the want of money if you need money do not be afraid to let me know for I have seven dollars left yet and I will send you that as I do not need but very little here for I dine well enough here and dress well enough I have bleached muslin shirts to wear all of the time and also bleached muslin sheets to sleep in so you see we are well provided for Uncle Samuel takes pretty good care of his boys I think I have not drawn any clothing except a pair of socks since I left Auburn dont you think I have saved my clots pretty well 

 

I told you in a letter that I wrote some time ago that we expected to be paid of again in a few days but the time set has gone by some time ago and no pay yet but there is a little prospect of our getting our pay now the first of May then we shall get 4 months pay again and I can send you more

 

I am very glad that Mr Reynolds was pleased with the letter that I wrote him I will send him another before long or as soon as I learn the final result of the expidition that left here about two weeks ago I like to do anything that I can to please him        You wanted to know if I was acquainted or knew Mr Anthony Bristol I think that I am for I have done a goodeal of business with him and always found him to be a very nice fine man. when you see him again tell him that I am very much obliged for his compliment. I sent him a paper a short time since and will send him more when I can get them. where we are now in the hospital it is difficult to get any papers only ocasionally as we are a mile from the depot

 

                        April 27^th 1863                        Well I did not have time to write much the night that I commenced this and I will try to add a little to day if possible I still keep well and hearty and apparently tougher or able to stand more than when I was at Arcadia how long it will continue I do not know but I shall try and keep well as long as I can possibly Well I got four letters yesterday two from you and one from Ezra Hibbard and one from Aunt Sally it did me good to get them particularly yours & Aunt Sallys for she wrote me a good letter you wrote in one of your letters that you did not think that the hair that I sent you was mine because it was so light well perhaps it was not but it grew on my head for I cut it from off there and I am in the house so much that I do not need a cap very much the letter that you sent the one cent stamps in I got some time ago and am very much obliged to you for them I will try and send or bring you something to pay for them. I sent to day a small box of cotton seeds to Mr Reynolds you can get some of them of him if you want them 

 

Vanburen Vaughn was well when I saw him last he has gone with the Regiment Lieut Vaughn has been sick with rumatism but he is so now that he has gone up to the regiment but I am afraid that he cannot stand it                     

 

George H Lake the son of Joshua Lake died here last week with the typhoid fever he was brought in here in the morning and died in the afternoon he did not know anything from the time he was brought here until he died Robert Broughton a boy that lived to John Haight last summer died here last week of diptheria I have written John Haight a letter for Robert he was one of the finest boys in the Company well liked by all his father lives in England.

 

There has been a good may deaths here in the hospital since we came here there has been as many as six die here in a day for two days and almost every day there is some one dies they are not all from our regiment for there is men here from eight or ten different regiments Some 200 sick & wounded Zenas Roberts came here sick to day he is not very sick but is tired with the march and needs rest. the boys were all well friday morning May 1^st for I heard from them then it is May 3^d now so I guess that you think it takes me a long time to write a letter for I commenced this last month and it is not done yet I do not get as much time to write as I used to but after this I will write shorter and oftener this is the last sheet of paper that I brought from home and now I shall have to use smaller sheets when I write. I have sent you several papers with in a short time back also a number to Reynolds and some to others at any rate I have used up all of them penny stamps that you sent but I have a plenty of three cent stamps since I got those you sent me and the one that lilly sent in the letter for me tell her I thank her for it very much and will keep it as long as I can and I will send her something I am a going to send a small box of things home as soon as we get payed again so that I can pay the freight on it I have some few things that I want to send home to you although they are not of much consequence to any one 

 

you wrote that you Mrs Boyall read what I said in regard to her picking up her duds and leaving. well the sooner the better unless she can do as she would like to be done by and not own the whole thing with out any right to it and I have some choice as to the use that she puts the house to

 

Well I must tell you that we are having green leaves down here we had them for about two weeks we have black berries pretty near every meal and we shall soon have green peas & potatoes that is rather earlyer than I am in the habit of having them

 

            French is here in the hospital yet sick and unless that there is a change for the better soon he will not stand but a few days longer he is so weak now that he cannot help himself any at all and he is as poor as a skeleton he has had the diareah so long that it has almost used him up there does not seem to be any hopes of his getting well at all for when any one here get as low as he is with the diareah it seems impossible to help them any I have seen so many cases here that I think there cannot be any chance for his recovery yet he may get well after all

 

            I send in this letter a one dollar confederate bill which I want you to give Mr Reynolds for me and some music for Lilly

 

            But I must stop for it is most supper time and I will close this for it may three or four days before I get an other chance to write again

 

My love and respects to you and the

Children         

 

Write Soon and often

L. V. Tucker

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