Port Royal S C            Dec 26^th 1862

 

Charles as it has been nearly four month since i last wrote to you i thought i would write you a few lines

 

i am at present reasonable well and have been since i last wrote i am still in the employ of the hospital but i cannot tell from day to day what may turn up that i might leave i am in the washing department a pretty high ocupation but anything in time of war yesterday was a beautiful day and it being cristmas i enjoyed myself considerable i had a couple of glasses of gin and a first rate dinner gin or any other kind of liquor is hard to be got here at any price whiskey will sell here to the souldiers for 3 dollars a quart readily i got mine for nothing my dinner consisted of ham and eggs coffe and pie for which i paid 75 cts the officers of our ridgment had a regular drunken frolick and many others beside them if you read the papers much you here some news from Port Royal i suppose more than i know there is some four thousand souldiers here including Hamiltons US battery of six guns and the 3 Rode eyland battery of the same number of guns the health here at present is prety good we have some frosty mornings but it has been six month the last of this month since the trupes has been paid i can not se how government thinks there families can live i have four months coming to me new years $82.50 which i shal send to Aaron as soon as i can get it but if i get paid before i shall only get half the amount he has now one hundred and fifty dollars and he tels me that i ought to have my will made and i ges i had but i claim to be a citisen of Pennsylvania / and the law there i think would not give it to my father he says that letters will not do i have wrote to him what to do with it if i never get back which of course is very uncertain it wont be much any how

 

Since i last wrote to you we had one pretty smart fight down here at pocotaligo river about twenty miles from this place which resulted in our having about four hundred killed and wounded many of the wounded since died as a matter of course we lost two captains out of our ridgment beside many others

 

Shortly after the battle the yellow fever broke out and threatened and threatened great distruction but as events turned out its progress was stopped before it got much ahead not however until many fell a victim to its deadly stroke among whom were General Mitchel his son in law Mager williams belonging to his staff Colnel Brown of the Third Rhode Eyland the hospital at the time was full of sick and wounded avereging 5 or 6 death dayly which made things look quite glomy for a wile here but mens lives is of a small account here. On the first day of the present month there was a man shot here for desertion to the rebels but he was a thief and they brought him back he protested his innocense to the last to morrow there will be over a 100 wounded sick and discharged men go north in the steam ship Star of the South there has been two ridgments of Bankes expedition poot in here in distress for repairs we have had the news from Burnside to the 17 prety darck i think Charley i think if this war lasts till we lick the south into subjugation your grand children may have a hand in it it will be a long time before Mr Lincoine Emancipation Proclamation will / go in to effect. I beleave there is plenty of northern trupes in the South that would sooner leave the war than the negroes should be free it appears that with very few exceptions the negro is univercely hated among the souldiers

 

Charles as the mails is very unregular to and from this place i hope you will write to me soon and let me know how all of our folks is how busness is what the people of the north think

 

Tobacco brings $1.50 cts per lb we have stores of all kind and they must be making fortunes

 

I thought i would send you a few cotten seed if you have a mind to plant them in your garden you can do so for cotten must be of good demand plant about 6 seed in a hill 3 ft apart manure about the same as corn and about the same depth when they get well up leave the best stalk stand and pull up the rest keep them hilled up well plant them as early as you think the weather wil permit about the first of may.

 

I hope you will write soon give my respects to Mary James father and likewise to your wife and Elizabeth and let me know something about lizabeth

 

I Remain Your Brother

William W Shivers

 

Direct as before

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