General Hospital        

Brashear City L.A. May 8^th 1863

 

Dear Wife       I will try once again to write you a few lines while I am sitting up to night if the mosquetoes will not bother so bad that I cannot do it for they are very numerous in this country

 

            Since I wrote last I have recd two letters from you no 4 & 5 no four came last but not the least acceptable on that account for I always like to get letters from home even if they are delayed on the road & they found me well and enjoying good health but it made me feel very sad to learn that you was unwell and suffering from the old pain in the side I was in hopes that that had entirely left you and that you would enjoy good health in the future I do not wish to find any fault with you but I am a fraid that you have not been carefull enough of your health / since I came away from home do try and be as careful of your self as you possibly can

 

            Well you will see by the heading of this letter that I am still in the hospital and although I am not in the field a fighting yet I will try and do a little good here in taking care of those that need my help and are unable to take care of them selves on account of sickness or wounds

 

We have here now some 200 sick and wounded men and more coming every day there is but very few of our regiment here now sick and but one of our company the Regiment are now about 150 miles up the river from here near a place called Alaxandria on the Red River Since the expidition started from here they have taken some 8000 prisoners 5000 horses mules & cattle an about two hundred thousand bales of cotton and Gen Banks thinks that they will get as much more yet as they have taken. the estimate of property captured amounts to enough to support Banks whole army for six months or in all fifty million dollars worth of property and quite an amount of money 

 

You said when you was writing your letter of April the 12^th that Frank was in bed a crying for to see me tell him not to cry so much but be a good boy and Pa will come home & see him again bye & bye Frank I want you to go to school and learn to read so that by the time that I come home you can read my letters and the papers that I send home and if you can I shall think that you are a good boy and will bring you something I will send you some money in this letter now so you must be a good boy and do as Ma tells you

 

            Tell lilly that I have got her bird cage that she sent me and will send her something to pay for it before long I want her to kiss Ma for me and send it to me in a letter tell her she must take good care of the birds so that I can hear them sing when I come home. the birds are singing here now althoug it is only a little past midnight they sing nearly all night when the moon shines they are mocking birds 

 

You said it had been very cold all of the spring Well here it has been very warm so that I have to go with my coat off and a thin shirt on and then I sweat so that my cloths are wet to day I went out hunting aligators and it was so warm that I could hardly stand it I did not kill any aligators but I saw three pretty large ones they are very plenty here but not so much so as the snakes are I shot some of them they are very plenty and large ones to

 

to day we had green peas & young potatoes for dinner how would you like some

 

            Tell uncle Ben Hibbard that if he will come down here that I will buy him them segars

 

            You wanted to know how the Rebels were dressed and how we could tell them from our men well the telling part is easy enough for they do not act nor walk nor talk like us and as for their dress that cannot be justly described I saw a 160 in one lot of prisoners and their was not two of them dressed a like some were bare footed and some had on one shoe others with one shoe and one boot others

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