In camp near Vicksburg

June 24^th 1863

 

Dear Wife & friends

                        Knowing you will be anxious about me from a few pencil lines I sent on my last I thought 3 cts cheap to relieve you after 2 days anxiety We did not go to Black River as we expected we lay in camp with 2 days rations cooked & in haversacks all day No order came to move and just at night the order was strick tents or rather all done so as it threatened rain very much & did rain gently all night all was still during the day We were to go to Black River to meet Jackson but report says our forces under Osterhaus & Oglesby handled him very roughly taking 1000 prisoners you may believe it up ther but we do not here / I have no doubt we have repulsed the Rebels with loss for had we not have got the better of them we should have went forward to aid our men But there are some such horrible lies told & published you cannot believe a word that is said scarcely I see it stated in the Pant. of the 13 I think Vicksburg taken & 13000 prisoners of cours you know that is all bosh I have no doubt it must soon fall as their last hope of relief is cut off but still they work as industrious as gophers before rain making rifle pits but they are far inside of where we found them & we have taken several of theirs & advanced ours so as to meet their lines & some inside but you must know we have for convenience to dig ours on the slope of the hill one side & they on the other so that leaves a better chance for rolling out on the right side for winning but we / have had no need of the precaution as yet some of our pits are now within 75 yards of their forts & to day they have no sharpshooters near enough as to annoy us with any certainty but our cannon make many of them hunt their holes rather quick as we keep up a continual fire driving them in our Division have taken 17 prisoners since we came wounded one verry bad we got he is yet alive & says he thanks god he has fell into our hands and one was killed a Capt of the 19 Tenn he refused to surrender made at the Capt with his bayonet when when he shot him 3 times & he died about 10 minutes after we got him back to our reservs his brother was taken prisoner at the same time They all tell near the same tale that they are on verry short rations some say ¾ of a lb & others ½ lb meal & ½ lb meat I do not believe all but no doubt they are short 

 

The weather is not near as hot here as you might expect in fact to day is quite breezy & not over warm the diarreah is the only trouble & our company is improving of that none is seriously bad I think the worst is improving but weak Irvin has been quite unwell but is feeling better now & will be able for duty in a few days

 

I wonder if Martha & Anna will ever think to thank me for my influence in getting them home on the first furlough perhaps not Anna speaks well of you in her letter as always being the same also Arvesta but does not like [ink blot] well you can scratch the initials here

 

Anna speaks of Marthas having her records framed but says she cannot afford to get hers as she needs the money You may get a frame & glass like the ones you got for ours & present it to her for a 4^th of July present or independent present make it a surprise you know the size to get I feel better to day than yesterday though our company is out on pickett & will be all night of cours but I will come in after the middle of the night as the rebs some times try to retake their old pits back but never yet have succeeded on our line I hope you will not put the time long for me to return though I know you look for me I have not the most distant idea when I can return but if my health still remains as good as now I can get along well enough in fact I should like to see Vicksburg ours before I start home would you not rather it be so If I can come home alive then for you know I should get well if still sick now excuse my writing with such poor ink as it is the best I have & we do not have all we want of any thing

 

[inner top margin upside down]

 

Cotton seems quite plenty here the Rebels use much of it for breast work & we have many bales for the same purpose the boys use some of to lay on & I think seriously of getting a pillow of it but I am afraid of flees in it or some thing of the kind we think Port Hudson is taken

 

[front top margin upside down]

 

as some of the gun boats came up last night so reported to help us but we are strong enough for the work so good by dear one O Barnard

 

 

[front top margin sideways]

 

The negroes bring in plenty of berries (black) at 10 cts per pint they are good for the boys that are sick

SOURCES