Marine Hospital New Orleans LA

Aug 10^th 1863

 

            Dear Wife

                        I will write you a little again to night as I have recd two letters from you with in a few days and since I have written to you I sent you one last week after I got my pay and put ten dollars in it which I hope will go safe through

 

I am still at the Marine hospital but shall not stay much longer I expect as I expect to go to the regiment to morrow and go in to the hospital there they have sent for me so often that the doctor has concluded to let me go but says that at any time that I cannot stand it there or want to come back that I can and then again by going there I have the prospect of something better as our hospital Steward will probably get a Lieuts commission and if he does I have the promise of the place that he leaves which will give me $30. per month I think it is the nicest place in the whole Regiment 

 

I got very much disappointed to day. I was expecting to go up to Baton Rouge today & Lieut Vandusen went and got me a free pass there and back I expected to have to go down to the city and get it of him then go from there with him but instead of that I went down after it and he started about the same time to bring it up to me and we passed each other on the way in the cars without knowing it and he could not find me nor I him and it was so late that he had to go with out me I felt very much grieved because I wanted to and see about William Hibbards death and his things but cannot now for he has the pass and I can not get an other until that is returned But I will try and answer some of the questions that you ask me but before I do I want to speak about the children I grieves me to learn that the children feel so bad about their cloths and I am very sorry that they should have to go so poorly clad but I hope that it will not be so a great while for I shall send you all the money nearly that I get / just as fast as I can If I have time to morrow I will get some stuff for them some clothes and send it to them by Express but an other thing I want to ask you and I do not want you to think hard of me for it and that is when you are speaking of the children why do you not say something more about Frank you hardly mention his name when you are writing is he such a bad boy that you do not want me to know it or what is the reason I am glad to hear from them and glad that you write so much about Lilly but I would like to hear more about Frank       

 

You spoke about how I liked Lousianna and if I liked it any better than Maryland I answer No nor half as well it pleasant here in the winter and spring but the country is only made tillable by the use of steam draining mills to drive the watter off in to the bayous as the land is so level that the water stands where it falls until it soaks in to the ground or is drawn of by these mills it makes it very unhealthy the land being so low and level winter crops will not grow here at all such as wheat rye & winter bary all the grain they raise here is corn they have to get all their flour &c from the north And then the inhabitants are a kind of a mongrel or mixed race composed of French, Spanish, Irish negroes and Americans and their language is of the same kind half white and half black or yellow the same as their color for that is of all shades from a jet black to a fine white 

 

You want me to tell you what a Bayou is. Well it is a stream that puts out from the Mississippi river or in fact allmost any kind or size of stream of water if you dig a ditch across a plantation it is called a bayou. At the North we would call them rivers or creeks only we could not have such mudy nasty ones they are all bayous here but the Mississippi and the niggers & secesh

 

Well in regard to my picture I will get it taken and send to you just as soon as I can When you get yours and the childrens taken I guess that you had better send them by mail get Mr Reynolds to fix it for you or if he cannot do it get The Horton to do it I will send you ten dollars more in this letter keep doing so as often as I can I will put in a ticket such as was used here for change when the rebs was here. Tell Franky that I got his stamp and sent him five cents to pay for it there was a dollar bill in the same letter have you not got them yet I hope you get all that I send you for that is little enough surely I am glad that Bill Cookingham has got drafted but I know of one that they cannot draft yet a while that is mysef I came in out of the draft nearly a year ago

Write often)               

 

But I must stop for it is late and I am tired

L. V. Tucker

 

W. S. Drake is trying hard to get discharged

 

I think that he is making the most of his

                        sickness now I saw him today

 

[upside down top margin]

 

Do not say any thing about what I have said about Drake

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