Marine Hospital New Orleans La Dec 8^th 1863

 

Dear Wife

                        I will commence another letter to you this afternoon but do not think that I shall get it finished to day, but will do it in time for Saturdays mail and perhaps I shall not write a very lengthy letter this time as I gave you a pretty long one day before yesterday. but I shall try and write often if I have to write short letters and then there is but little to do in the ward now and I may as well write if I can as to do nothing. I have just finished a letter to Mr Reynolds which will go on the same mail that this does so you will both get them probably about one time unless one or the other get overlooked in the office and is detained in that way. I think that I am writing so often that I shall keep a letter on the way coming all of the time and hope that you will do the same

 

            My health is still improving and I begin to feel some what like myself again only I am weak yet and have not got rid of the pain in my head yet entirely but do not have to take any medicine for it now the pain grows less every day but it is slow it is three weeks now since it first commenced but I guess it will soon wear away when I hope that I shall be well again if nothing new does not set in to pull me back

 

            In about an hour after I had put that letter in the office that I wrote Sunday the door of the ward opened and in walked who J. H. Miller direct from Arcadia looking as fresh as could be and as fat and hearty as a bear. It done me more good to see him than it did all of the rest that had been home it seemed when I shook hand with him almost as if I was taking hold of the hand of a brother and the hand of a friend I know that I had hold of he staid and visited with me until dark and seemed loth to leave then I tried to get him to stay all night but he could not for he had to start for the regiment Monday morning and he had / not yet got his trunk of the boat and had to do it that night or early next morning if it had not been for that he would have staid all night with me. I hated to have him go away worse than any one that has been here to see me he is one of the best boys that there is in the 160^th and it is not all show with him either. I was glad to see Vandusen but give me J. H. Miller by all means and all times for a real friend

 

            Well yesterday I went down to the city and had my photograph taken and will send you one in this letter I got them taken on cards the same as them at Auburn the reason was that they charged so much here that I could not afford to get a larger one They asked me for a photograph that was 4 inches wide by 5 long just the naked picture $7.00 with a frame $10.00 I can get them in New York for one dollar larger than that. these cards I had to pay 67 cents apiece for and those that I got at Auburn only cost 18^cts each I paid 2 dollars for three of these cards so you can see what charges they make here in the Crescent City

            You will see by this picture that I am not very fleshy but I have hopes that I shall increase in flesh some before long as it is getting cooler weather now and more agreeable than it was when it was so hot in the summer

 

            Our regiment is encamped at a place called New Iberia but it is uncertain how long that they will stay there probably not a great while but I have kept writing until I have got my letter nearly done without putting it of until to morrow so I will quit and if I have anything new to write before Saturday I will write again        

 

Tell Lilly that I thank her for the stamp that she sent me and I will send her something for it before long

 

Write often as you can

 

Yours as Ever

L. V. Tucker

 

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I am disappointed in those pictures they were so poor that I hesitated a long time about taking them but finally concluded to take them and quit. you can see by the picture how fleshy I am at present

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