Matagorda Island Texas

March 29^th 1864

 

Dear Sister Parna.

                                    You no doubt are accusing me of indifference for not writing sooner and oftener I can hardly blame you, but I always think when I am writing to Father it is the same as writing to you, but still I know you do not look on it as the same. I believe the last letter I wrote you was dated Oct 11^th /63 I would write much oftener but I have nothing to write. We are simply lying dormant doing nothing in the way of adventure, drill some occasionally, when the wind does not blow too hard. we have our wood to haul, now 18 to 30 miles and our water 4 or 5 miles. Our teams are kept busy hauling sward for soding the different fortifications. Officers detailed on Court Martials and Boards of Survey, and the different details incident to camp duty occupy our time and attention to a limited extent. the health of the troops on the Island is very good. tis said, that when a man dies they have to commence a new grave yard as they cannot remember where they buried the last man, and as lumber is too scarce to afford a board at their head, and a mound soon blows away. We Co "L" have lost one man, but he had been trying to die for some time. as I have told you before there are a great many men die in the Army with the blues home sick, discouraged, their friends always writing discouraging letters begging them to try and get discharged, get a furlough, get any thing to get home. friends at home will write a pitiful tale in regard to affairs at home with a view to have them use every effort to get home it has the worst tendency in the world to discourage a soldier / A soldier is totally at the mercy of the Officers over him, if he is of a whining grumbling fault finding disposition always pretending to be sick and wanting to go home, he soon disgusts his officers and he often can neither get a furlough or discharged when he needs it they think their fellows, their Officer & the whole government is against them, and very naturally give way to despondence & often die. As for myself I never came into the army to die, nor have I been bored by receiving discouraging letters from my friends. I have had no love affairs to trouble me, as many I know, poor fellows. No wife to be writing for money, when I had none and had recd no pay for 4 or 6 months and no prospect of pay, her telling she was out of clothes, out of wood, flour, corn & potatoes the children crying for bread, the land lord dunning for his rent, these things are not pleasant. My health has been remarkably good for several months. Our living is not very high at present, with the exception of an occasional Norther, which is very disagreeable we have very nice weather, grass is large enough on the prairies to be mowed, pasture is good Prairie flowers are plenty, but on this part of the Island near the Bay there are large tracts with no grass on I think it sometimes overflows with salt water which kills the grass. We are on a narrow grassy ridge 350 yards from the Bayou & ferry where those 26 soldiers were drowned on the 13^th of March by the sinking of the boat I think I gave you an act of it a short time ago it was a bad sight. Most of the bodies have come to the surface. two of our guns were at Indianola but as all the troops are now here on the Island our company is now all together. the forces are scattered along the coast for about 13 miles. the fortifications are 8 miles apart, and there is one Regt on picket out 5 miles farther. So you have an idea where we are. 

 

            The last mail I have had from Iowa was in January I know not why, but we get no mail lately. We have almost forgotten that we had any corispondents. we have had no letters untill they were quite aged, but such are the fates of war. they may reach us in time. I have not heard from Det in some 8 months

The troops here belonging to the 13^th Army Corps are being paid off but we belong to the 19^th A. Corps and I have no idea when we will get paid. we are paid up to Nov 1^st 1863 being 5 months behind. I received a letter from our Chaplain at Baton Rouge March 10^th There is about 200 men of our Regt there including about 135 of Co "M" have been in the service but 6 or 8 months and cannot reenlist yet.

 

            By the way, we did have a little excitement here last night & today a rebel blockade runner tried to pass out we have a gunboat the "Estrella" lying in the Bay and several transports sloops & schooners the pass is about 2 miles wide but the channel is narrow in the night they all discovered a schooner on fire on the beach of De Crows Point near where we were camped in January The wind was blowing strong from the North and they the blockade runner ran too close to the point and the wind blew them on the beach. they set her on fire and left. She proved to be loaded with cotton "Our Navy" ventured near and put out the fire and secured about 100 bales cotton Gen^l M. J. T. Dana gave Capt Cook of the "Estrella" fits for allowing a boat to come so near getting out. The "Estrella" was one of the 4 gun boats we had at Berwick Bay Brashear City. Capt Cook is a notorious coward. The Estrella to night lies farther up the Bay and the poor sentinel no doubt has had his instructions to watch as well as pray. The darkees (14^th Rhode Island Regt) at Fort Esperanza were badly alarmed / and as your Iowa friends may wish to know something about the colored troops of New England, I can give you a very good idea as I have become somewhat acquainted with the white Officers of the 14^th. They mostly belonged to the 3^d Regt Rhode Island (white) but inasmuch as—Everybody—made such a fuss over the nigger in the North they naturally thot that to hold a commission in a nigger Regt would be a big thing. The Officers had to go to Washington before an examining board and out of 300 applicants only about 12 or 15 men were commissioned. And they are the sickest set I ever saw. the darkees are pretty smart, very saucy, being pampered at home in R.I. and the Officers dare not correct one severely for fear of being censured by his nigger worshiping friends at home. I met their Quarter Master way out on the prairie today as I was coming back from visiting some Iowa regts we stopped and had a long chat I told him his nigs should be officered by western men who would think they was doing G—d service every time they killed one. he said he wished to G—d they were. He was heartily sick of it and said so was all the Officers in the (Battalion of 4 companies instead of a Regt.) there is a regt of contrabands here they are very civil, they hate the Nutmeg nigs & vice versa worse than western men hate Yankees. I hope government will enlist & draft all the darkees and get them some place where they will get a chance to fight for their freedom

 

            I sent Father a Proclamation of Genl Banks in regard to the working of Govt plantations and the chances of getting nigs north to work did he get it. if not I will send him another. I have a song I shall send Lee some time called Grafted him into the Army (Irish) it runs, "Oh Jimie has gone to live in a tent, They have Grafted him into the Army

 

            He finally puckered up courage & went, when they grafted him into the Army

 

            I told them the child was too young alas. At the Captns fore quarters they said he would pass

 

            They trained him up well in the Infantry class. When they grafted him into &c.

 

            Give my compliaments to the friends of & write soon to

                                               

Your Brother   R. H. Crist       C^o "L"

1^st Regt Ind Heavy Artillery

Baton Rouge, La.

 

You certainly cannot complain but that this sheet is well filled—wouldn't I love to get one to night as well filled

 

March 30^th we had a man die last night of Typhoid fever at Gen^l Hosp he was getting better, but got out of bed and drank an over dose of cold water /

 

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As runn the glass, Mans life doth pass.—                                         

March 31^st last night

about 8 Oclock there came an order up to my camp to hold our Company in readiness to turn out at a moments notice to preserve "if necessary" good order in the nigger 14^th R.I. they were ordered out to work on entrenchments. they refused. One of the darkees called his Officer some insulting name. the Officer shot him down. "Bully for him". they were about to get up quite a row. they were marched down to the outer works and are now working under guard of western men and I guess nigs had better be careful. Our Co were crazy to go down and give them a few rounds with their small arms. Heavy Artillery all have rifles. Breech loading, except the drivers. but all is quiet today. except every body is mad because they did not get a chance to kill a nigger. the one poor fellow no doubt will die.

 

            I write this to give you an idea of the feeling existing among white troops

 

            The wind has blown a gale today from the North. March has moved a vast amount of sand which flies today just like drifting snow.

 

            It may yet be several days before a mail goes out, so good by for the present

 

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Last Sabbath was Easter Sunday, but alas for eggs we had soft bread for breakfast for the first time since we landed. a Dutchman has just started a bakery—

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