On board the steamer Joana

Miss, Cold water river March 5^th 1863

 

give my best respects to all i mean the girles of course

 

Dear sister

yours of the 18^th came to hand yesterday and found me Well and in a place where it is very good thing to find ones self in good health our regiment is now on an expedition some where and i dont know where and i dont believe there is a great many in the expedition that does but i think that there is a probability of our finding out some time if not sooner the general opinion of the men and oficers is that we ar going to the yazoo river to keep supplyed from going into vicksburg and to keep out reenforcements and to capture what rebel boats there may be on the yazoo I dont think we shall see any fighting while we ar on this expedition without it is at yazoo city And they will take that with the gun and mortar boats news came to the fleet last night that / An other fleet had been up and taken the place And if that proves to be true i dont think that we shall see any fight at all there is a big force along in this fleet and it will take all the Rebels this side of purgatory to lick us but if we dont go faster than we have yet i dont think we shall ever come across any rebels to lick or get licked by to day makes eleven days from helena and we have not yet reached the talahachie river I find that the farther we go the better the country gets and is more thickley settled not by white men but by Nigers the white men have (all seen the smoke way up the river where the lincon boats was comeing and was a fraid if they stayed there much longer they would hear the bullets huming) our guns ar all loaded ready for a minutes notice i have got a ball in my gun that I intend to send after a secesh one of these days you seem to think things ar very dear up there i will tell you the price of some things here in the south tea is from two dollars to three dolars a pound sugar and / coffee about the same as it is north potatoes three dollars a bushel butter 25 and 30 cts a pound chees the same dried aples plumes peaches curents ar from 30 to 40 cents a pound and not very plenty at that and mens boots ar from 7 to 9 dollars a pair Well adeline i like to forgot to say that I got your letter of the 23^rd the same time that i got the other mary says that i dont seem to want to hear from her and that she has not had a letter from me since i left Camp Washburn well all i have got to say in the defence is that i would like to hear from her as often as she can write and that i have answered all the letters that i have received from her tell her that i will try and get a letter to her before long Emma roe has got to be religeous that is all right very glad to hear it hope Miss Dann will undergo the same change expect to hear before long that you and mary ar in the same fix tell mary that William is sick he didnt / come with us well adeline i dont think of any more to write this time you will hear all the news by an other letter that goes by the same mail tell father we got paid 16 dollars before we left helena and when we get to a stoping place i think i shall send some home Well as it is getting to be night and i dont think of any more to write i will close this from

                                                                       

Francis P Knowlton

Direct to Helena P.O. 

usual to follow the Regt

 

To his sister                                                                            

Adeline Knowlton                                                      

 

We have just arived at the mouth of the tallahatchie river i will write again in a day or two

 

to Francis 19^th Feb

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