Fort Beaulieu Georgia

January 16^th 1865

 

Dear Sister Ellen

                                    As I have come to the conclusion that I have to write letters and receive none I think it is now about time for me to write to you. I do not know what the reason is for not getting letters, but I can hardly think it is the falt of any of my relatives or friends. I have not received but one letter for one month and that one was written by my ex capt J B Craig. there has several letters been received in the company dated the first of this month and answers to letters written the same time that I wrote to you & Charlotte, but we have the smallest mails for our regt I have ever seen come to the Regt. there is hardly ever more than 12 letters comes in the mail at one time. It seems that all our friends quit writing when they quit receiving letters from us, but I will not grumble, for fear you are all sick but will hope such is not the case. It is very convenient not to receive letters for then we have none to answer. but I like very much to receive letters anyhow. Well I suppose you have heard quite enough about the letters. Probly you would like to know what we are doing at F^t Beaulieu. Well we are not here to protect it but rather to clean it out we have taken all the guns and amunition out of it and loadened them on a ship they are to go to Hilton Head There was 9 cannon in this fort one small rifled gun throwing / about a 6 pound ball, then about 36 pounders and two 128 pounders. there must have been at least 2,000 rounds of amunition in this Fort. We are now at work dismantleing Fort Rose-dew it has 6 guns in it one of them is eleven inch caliber I do not know what the weight of its ball is but these 10 inch caliber throws a ball weighing 128 pounds I think we will get done here in about two more days then I think we will go back to the city we are about 15 miles south of the city & near a little village called Montgomery on what the citizens call the Montgomery River. I believe I wrote you last from Savannah on the 6^th of this month, just two days after we got back from the Isle of Hope. we came here on the 11^th of this month and have been at work most every day since we arrived here. this is a very nice place and when we are not at work we amuse ourselves by riding around in the skifts gathering oysters &c &c There is fine oyster beds just on the opposite bank of the river and a couple of men can pick up 15 or 20 bushel in a couple of hours or much less time. They are so plenty that I care but little about them so little that it is too much trouble for me to even take them out of the shell after they are brought to my tent I went out to gather some one evening for supper and cut my thumb & finger on the shell, and now I dont feel like trying it again. One of the men and myself took a ride down the river about 4 mile last saturday and it grew so windy that it blew us to shore where we had to stay until near sun set when the wind partially subsided before we dare venture out again the waves would strike / against the skift and splash all over us. I began to think they were going to capsise us but we got back safe and hungry for we started out in the morning early. we landed on green Island and took a stroll over it trying to find some beef or pork, but did not succeed. I went out again to day we went up to White Bluff Island about 3 miles from here, but did not get any game. We have good barracks here built of pine logs and in a nice grove of live oak trees. these are the nicest shade trees I most ever seen. I have seen them 50 f^t high and 100 wide, the lower limbs not higher than a mans head. I do not know how long we will stay at Savannah nor where we are likley to go iff we leave there. I hear that the 2^nd Divis of our Corps are leaving there. Genl J A Logan has taken command of our Corps again. I hear that Richard Yates is appointed Senator also that our Divis commander Brigd Genl John E Smith has been made a Mj Genl. Well iff such is the case he may thank the 63^rd Ills for it. I hear that Congress is talking of selling the cotton captured here and contributing the money to the soldiers of Shermans Army. It would be quite a treat to us, not so much on acount of the money as the honor of having Congress vote it to us, as an extra. Well Ellen you will excuse me for not writing a more interesting letter for I do not feel in in a writing mood and cannot think of anything interesting to write about. I meerly wished to let you know where & how we are getting along in the Sunny South. Well it has agreed very well with us thus far and is not any too warm in the winter. The health of the troops as far as I can learn is extreemly good I do not know of a sick man in the Regiment 

 

I have not had a mess of fresh fish yet but think I will try to catch some in a day or two I have not seen Ed or Relley but the once I do not know whether they are at Savannah yet or not We have been having very nice weather for the last few days or in fact ever since we came here Well Ellen I can think of nothing more. When you write direct your letter to Savannah via of New York City

 

Give my love to all the family also Uncle Bens

                                                                                   

Truly your Affectionate Brother

George

 

[parenthetical note in another hand]

 

Capt. George F Glossbrenner

Co. "I" 63^rd Ill. Vols

 

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