Marine Hospital New Orleans L'a. Dec 10^th 1863

 

            Dear Wife

                        Although it is but yesterday that I mailed a letter to you yet I will write you another sheet on tonight so that it will go out with the Saturdays mail that leaves then for New York and I shall not probably write anything very interesting to you this time but I may as well write as to sit around and do nothing until time to go to bed. Although I have felt dumpish to day yet I can say that my health is still improving I getting now so that I am nearly as stout as I have been since I came here this time and if I have no pull back I shall soon be pretty smart again. you can judge of how smart I am getting when I tell you that the day I had my photograph taken after three oclock in the afternoon I walked some four or five miles around the city a looking around but you may believe me when I say that I was tired when I got back to the hospital and went to bed very early that night

 

            I sent you in my letter yesterday my photograph but it looked so bad that I was almost ashamed to send it but finally concluded to send. it looks as if my coat was hung on a bean pole I did not know as it was so loose or I would have put another on under it so as to have filled it some what you need not make fun of it because it is a poor one for it cost enough to be a good one

 

            I shall send you in this letter a photograph of a man that was with me when I had mine taken. we have been to gether nearly all of the time ever since we came South he is a fine man and a friend. he has been sick some four or five months but is getting better now I have taken care of him most all of the time that he has been sick. I gave him one of mine and he sends that home to his wife he belongs to C^o F of our regiment but when he enlisted and came away his family mooved to Iowa about a hundred miles from where Jennings lives his name is William. A. White we take a ride to gether every few days yesterday we rode over a good of New Orleans to gether 

 

            George Cook was here to see me this afternoon he begins to look quite healthy again but yet he is not well Nat Cook is with the Regiment and well I saw a letter from him to day. Give my respects to Mr Cook when you see him Seph Cookingham is getting a little better so that he has gone to nursing a little

 

            Lon Blyn seems to be quite unwell all the time and no particular disease unless it be homesickness one of the worst kinds of sickness for a person to have

 

            I got a letter from Wes. Drake day before yesterday he was so tickled because he had got home that he could not find words to express himself he was like a child with a new toy

 

            There is a rumor here in the city this afternoon that there was a meeting in Fort Jackson there was two coloured regiments stationed there to garison the fort and hold some two hundred Rebel prisoners they murdered all of their Officers (White) and let the prisoners all go at large and fired into the transports that was coming up the river the report now is that they are going to hang the whole of them but I do not know whether it is true or not when I get the particulars I will write about it more

 

            But I will stop for this time and write again by the next mail so you will hear from me pretty often while I stay here

 

            what has become of Ti Lusk the rest of them I do not care a snap for but I should like to hear from Ti

 

Write often and I will answer

 

From Your &c

L. V. Tucker

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