Saluria Matagorda Island Texas

May 26^th 1864

 

Dear Brother Lee

               Having considerable leasure time on my hands I thot perhaps you would give a letter from me as strong a welcome as any one. I wrote Parna on the 7^th, which she no doubt has received. I received 15 letters on the 17^th of May One from Father & Parna, dated April 4^th. I think 10 or 12 of the 15 letters was written on the 3^d & 4^th of Apr. I recd one dated Sept 27^th I received one from Feb 1 from Mr Hagar. 1 from Uncle T. K. Hunter with $30. in 1 from Lt. T. P. Harcourt—our old Quarter Master Sergt with $25 that I lent him last fall, he is now a Lieut in a nigger Regt. at Port Hudson. I had just received $350.00 pay. So I am well supplied with Greenbacks. It still remains healthy here but is getting rather warm. We expect to leave here in a few days as nearly all the troops have evacuated and unless Gen'l Banks has better luck than common on Red River we will be sent on the Miss River some where soon. So that I can get letters before they get faded out. We are having very easy times here. Nothing to do very little drill and very little guard duty. Batteries and Regts of Artillery seldom have a camp guard, that is a guard around a camp to keep the men from going out. Lee did you ever see a camp of soldiers. A guard has to stand 2 hours and then he rests 4. he must walk all the time back & forth, unless he is guarding a gate door. 

 

As every body is supposed to know something about Military even though the war should end in a year or two I will give you a few items that I want you to commit to memory, for when I first came into the service I did not know which ranked the highest a Capt or Lieut. a Col. or an Adjutant, Lieut Colonel or Major. I did not know which was the largest a plattoon or Company a Brigade or Battalion. I will give you the calibre of guns cannon which is something you might hunt for a long time and not find. So when you hear of a 32 pounder, or 42 pounder, 6 pdr or any size you can form some idea how large a ball it carries. an old Artillerist can tell by the explosion and be off 1 or 2 miles, can tell an iron gun from a brass, a brass gun jingles as if all the glass in the country was broken. Our 30 pdr Parrotts do not make as loud a report as a 12 pdr smooth bore brass or iron gun. there is so much more iron in a 30 pdr Parrott it does not recoil much or make much noise

 

Lee I want you to write me a long letter take 2 or 3 weeks to write it as I used to, tell me all about what you have to do, who you help and who helps you. do you go to school. How big a melon patch you have how many acres of corn, potatoes wheat oats & sugar cane & cotton you & Father is growing this year. How many horses, oxen cows hogs sheep, do you keep a dog. write anything, name some new songs you have learned. do you love to sing. Enclosed I send you $5.—more money than I ever had before I was of age—with which you can buy anything useful. take a newspaper, buy books, go to 4^th of July get your picture taken &c. &c. Write soon to

                                   

Your Brother                                      

R. H. Crist C^o "L"

(address)                    

1^st Regt Indiana Heavy Artillery

New Orleans            La /

 

 

                        42 pdr              32                    24                    18                    12        6         

Diameter of

Bore or            7                      6 4/10              5 82/100          5 3/10       4 62/100  3 62/100

Caliber

in inches          in.

Length of Bore 110                 107 6/10          108                  109                  103

 

Weights of

Guns    pounds   8.465             7.200               5.790               4.913               3.590

 

weight of         1.354               1.510               1.566               1.574               .620

carriages case mate

 

                        pdr                   pdr                   pdr                   pdr                   pdr

                        200                  100                  30                    20                    10

Diameter of     in                     in                     in                     in                     in

Bore or            8                      6 4/10              4 2/10              3 67/100            2 9/10

caliber of

Parrott guns     in                     in                     in                     in                     in

Length of        136                  130                  120                  79                    70

bore

Weights of      pds

Guns                16000              9650                4250                1800                900

 

            You may always know a Colonel by a silver eagle on his shoulder strap. A Lieut Colonel has a silver embroidered leaf in each end of his shoulder strap. A Major by a gold (or brass) embroidered leaf in each end of his shoulder strap. A Captain has 2 short bars across each end of his strap. a 1^st Lieut has one bar, a 2^d Lieut has no bars on his strap. Officers of the Generals Staff wear gold cord on the out side seam of their pants, dark grounds in their shoulder straps. A Major Gen'l Commanding an Army has 3 stars on his strap. All other Major Genls has 2, Brigadier Genls has one star. Cavalry Officers wear yellow grounds in their straps and yellow cord on their pants privates & non commissioned Officers wear yellow stripes. Artillery wear Red, Infantry Blue.

 

            All Sergts wear chevrons on their arms, 3 stripes, Corporals 2.

 

            So now you may know a mans rank when you see him. Sergts should wear a stripe 1 inch wide on the out side seam of their pants the do sometimes wear a cord like an officer—I always did—for a stripe was too conspicuous. Many of the veterans going home wear as / good clothes as the Officers. Cavalry & Artillery Sergts often wear swords all Cavalry have swords—and often the drivers in Artillery—I hope you will read this over several times so that you may have some idea of what a soldier is.

                                                                                               

R. H. Crist.

SOURCES