Port Royal S.C            June 10 1862

 

Brother Charles as thear is a mail about to leave and it has been some time since i wrote i believe the last was from tybee of which i received an answer in due time i thought i would addres you a few lines As for myself my health is as well at present as can be expected considering the climate down here we have had for the past 10 days back a goodeal of rain thunder hot sun and all mixed together and this morning a man could ware an overcoat without doing him any harm Some time ago there was about 25 from our Ridgment detailed to assist in the hospital and our captain and me being on prety good terms he thought he thought he would do me a favour by sending me which he did i have been in the General hospital since the first of May i was about ten days very unwel i was afraid i was agoing to have the fever but i kept to my duty took a little medisine an drove it of typode fever is very prevelent here with the diarere a good many dye the fighting ought to have been done here instead of building nigger quarters and fetching ladyes from the north to educate the niggers before sickness got amung the men there is entirely to much simpathy for the niggers by the nothern ladyes if they would atend thear simpathy to the poor souldiers wife and children or to his orphens instead of sending them to the she niggers down here that wont wash the hospital cloths thay would show far more benevelance there has been a Ridgment of niggers formed here uniformed and armed called the first S.C Volentears that caused a goodeal of dissatisfaction among the souldiers two or three of our Officers resigned on account of it and i give them credit while two or three others accepted commishons among them to thear disgrace but i believe uncel Sam has put a veto on that Ridgment for the present and called General Hunter to an account for the responsibility he took upon himself to declare the niggers free in SC Georgia and Florida which i heard read hear on dress Parade

 

I understand that General Kidwalader is to take command here Our Ridgment has gon some ware towards Charleston where i suppose they will soon have a fight they have been gon some ten days we can not hear much about them i wish them great socces i suppose you have some very importent news from Richmond before this but the news is second handed before we get it 

 

the worst enemy we have to fight here at pressent is the fleas which is as thick in the sand as there they are in the north in a hog pen they dont bother me so much as some blackbery time commenced about the first of aprial and continued till about the middle of may i enjoyed myself very much on blackberys and sugar for awile they sold from five cts a pint to five cts a quart by the negroes there was a nigger acting as spy for the rebels under pretence of selling little articels to our souldiers a short time ago but as he was about leaving seabrook one night in a boat the guard hailed him getting no answer he fired noticeing the man lay down in the boat. in a day or two the boat drifted ashore and mister nigger had a ball through his head a papers that proaved him to be a spy

 

a few days after we came from tybee we was called one night about 11 oclock on a secret force march we went about six miles through the woods and sand betwen a quick and double quick till we came to seabrook where we expected to find the enemy but to our mortification mine i can honestly say we did not we stayed until morning returned none the worse nor not much the better with the exception of seing the cuntary and the orang groves negro towns and so forth. our hospittel which is supposed to accommodate five hundred patients is as least two thirds full what it will be after a wile god only knows i may stay here all summer i may not my Ridgment has no controll over me at all i am entirely under the disipline of the hospital the extry pay that i receive 25 cts per day brings my wages to twenty dollars and fifty cts per month on an average sundays and all count washing and no los time Charley i was once a pretty strong abolitionist but i am some what changed The niggers here is a lazy ornary set of people i am afraid if they ever go north it will make bad work but no more about that the papers that you spoke about i received but not untill about a week after i wrote received the letter i suppose that was owing to our company post master that seen who they was for took the liberty to read them first and forgot to give them write away You spoke of the impropriety of putting money in a soulders hands for safe keping i will admit that fact all that i would be afraid of with that man would be an accident to either him or me which he spoke of himself after i give it to him but that matter is all settled when i got my second pay i got the money from him hearing that some had lost there money by sending it by mail / and adams express was doing business here i seen them concerning sending it they give me to understand that it would be les expense to send it to philadelphia i told them i could and according wrote a note to Aaron Hurley and received an answer that he would willingly do any thing for me that he could and if ever i come back i could get it if not name who i wanted to have it and it should be so i sent him fifty dollars with directions if i died or got killed to give the money over to you i thought it would help to defray some of the expense you have been at that i am willing to bear a part if i am able. at the end of this month i shall have sixty five dollars coming to me which i shall send sixty and keep five as fast as i can get it i shal try to get my proscritive rool from the company then i can draw all my pay from the hospital Charles after i had transacted my business in that way i thought perhaps you might think strange of it but i do not want you to think strange for as i live i would fully as soon you would take care of what little i shall send as Aaron Hurley or any other man in the world if you had lived in philadelphia since the first pay i drawed in febuary we could have made fifty dollars a piece on watches easy i heard a few days ago a chap reading about seventeen hundred dollars being raised for the furnishing of delecacies to the sick in the hospitals i applause the people in the north for thear charity to the sick soldiers they need that sympathy but it is useles for them to think if sending any thing like delecacies there if they get thear regular soldiers rations they can do well enough sick or well what they can not eat is strong food they will have enough to by eny thing that is necessery. sick men dont want much i could say much more on this subject but perhaps it is not prudent. In regard to this wars be ended i have lost all my calculations I have no more to say at present further than some of the Ladies that was teaching the niggers at beaufort began to think it was getting rather warm on account of the rebels made quite a steady retreat to Port Royal thear is a regular steam boat runs thear i want to take an excurtion thear myself as soon as i can get a little money and a furlow from the doctor they say it is a nice little town it wont cost me any thing on what i spend 2 dollars perhaps 

 

Charles I hope you will write soon when i shall hear a good account of you and all your family likewise all my relations with my sinsere respects to you all i remain your Humble Brother

                                   

William W Shivers

 

Direct your letter to Port Royal SC General Hospital

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