Steamer Phila.

June 21^st /64

 

Sis:

            I received your letter of the 14^th inst. yesterday. I must plead guilty this time, but as I missed the Fulton's mail, I did not think it worth while writeing untill the Arago's mail which I think will leave to day or tomorrow. I received a letter from Harry last Sunday, of the 10^th together with yours of the 2^nd.

 

Harry says he is well. He has moved to Hospital No fourteen, and is quartered in a tent which he showed me when I was to see him. It is a very comfortable wall tent and has every thing he can wish.

 

Since I wrote to you we have moved our quarters to Charleston Harbor again. It looks quite lost with out the Ironsides. There are only five Monitors here which have to keep a paticular close watch. The Rebs I understand fired a salute when the Ironsides left, and throwed a shell or two out to the fleet where we now lay. It was reported the rams where coming out, but I believe they have no notion of it. If they come out in the daytime I should / like to see them try it. They are makeing arrangements here to raise the Keokuk and expect to be successful. I believe they think they will not be able to raise the Weehawken.

 

            There has been several parties of refugees come out since we have been here. There was five men and a woman came out last Saturday night a week in a small schooner with fifteen bags of coton on board. They came out in pretence of running the blockade. After coming out they came to anchor, and gave themselves up. They where brought on board here the following afternoon. The woman is the owner of the vessel; she is a young woman, not more than twenty five years of age. The Admiral ordered a room to be fixed for her and gave her dinner. They bring no news of any importance, only that they are getting very tired of the war. I asked one of them about that account you sent me of the Lieut. He says he did not see the account, but heard it was in the papers and there was no truth in it at all, and he also says that he has been there ever since the first shell was fired and he does not know of any one that has been / instantly killed yet. There is some doubts their intentions of not running the blockade. I have not much faith in them, and in fact any of them; for I believe there is none of them would run at this late hour unless, either, they where to great cowards to fight or want something to eat.

 

There is a man on board who came day before yesterday, that has escaped three times from the Rebs. You may say this is his forth time: for he was recaptured this time at Bulls Bay by three mounted scouts, but luckly escaped or nothing would of saved him I suppose. The time of his capture before, he was about to be hung for takeing sketches of places he seen, and nothing saved him only he was taken with a severe illness and was not expected to live at the time appointed for his execution. He escaped to the schooner T. A. Ward at Wassaw Sound. He was taken prisner at N. Orleans, and belonged to the Army.

The same evening he came on board there was a Sergt & Pvt of the 27^th Massa'ts brought on board. They also where prisners and escaped, but where on board for so short a time I was not able to find out any paticulars of their escape or capture. /

 

From what I can see here of the firing, it is about the same as usual, but I believe they have increased it some on the city. The Fleet does not do any thing only an occasional shot at Sumter. We have information here from a Charleston paper of the 14^th that there was fifty of our Gen's, Col's, Lieut Col's, and Majors arrived that day in the city. It gives all their names and rates, and say they will be given comfortable quarters in that part of the city where the fire of the enemy is the heaviest, and will notify us that if we fire on the city we will be killing our own men.

 

            Last fall while firing on Sumter they sent out a flag of truce saying that if it was not stoped they would put our men on the parapetts of the Ft. The Admiral informed them that if they done so, he would lash their men to the turrets of the Monitors, and since there has been nothing more heard of it. I think the same plan would come in well now, if there is any truth in the statement.

 

            You say you would rather not see the Admiral coming home unless I came with him. Whether the Admiral goes or not I am not paticular; but if he does go I would much rather remain here unless there would be chance to join some other Squadron for I would much rather be at sea if I have luck to get under Officers, than to be ashore. My most paticular reason is, that I enlisted principally with the idea of going to sea, and if I could get on the kind of a vessel I should / like to, I think I could say at the end of my four years that I was not altogether a sipher in putting down this rebellion.

 

            You may think it is a terrible lonesome life at sea and so it is if you want to make it so. It is more lively on this vessel than it is on many others, for there is three or four boats coming, you can hear what is going on in different parts of the Fleet. There is a party of Rebs coming you can here what they have to say. Now I am going on duty, and I may often here some important news where I cannot here any place else. When I come off I will go on the topmost deck and see how they are makeing out at firing, ask for a glass and take a look at the city maby at sumter or Johnson that has just fired a shot and wasted its strength in the marsh on Morris Isl. I now will go below awhile, and after I am done reading, maby a welcom letter from you, which I have just received or a batch of papers, or tired reading the Old Curiosity Shop or the Woman in White, I will throw my line over board and catch a few fish for breakfast, and while catching / I may pull up a hungry shark, maby two feet long. Then there will be a roar on deck and it will take all hand five minutes to kill him as you may think, but he has no notion of dying for an hour. Cut him up and he will make bate for some time. In this way time is not spent altogether so unpleasant or even so unprofitable as you may think

 

            I will not worry you any longer, but will ask to be remembered, with much love to all.

                                                                                               

Charley

 

M. E. Leaman

 

 

 

Brother Rosh:

                        You do not know how much I wished to be with you plastering that corn. It pleased me more to hear that you where able to do it than if you had written to me. Don't work to strain yourself, or tread to tire your self to much. Especially do not forget to read and study the teachings of that well bound book, which I know you receive every Sabath, from a good and kind teacher, in that school where I have been often, and if that Father which you hear about there, will permit we both will be in again.

                                                                                               

Your Bro. Charley

 

Rosh Leaman

 

[inner top margin upside down]

 

June 21/64

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