Monday Jan, the 12,/63

Arcansis Post

 

Dear Mary, I once more sit down to write a fiew lines to you to let you know that I am alive & well.

 

Tuesday, 13

I commenced a letter yesterday, when Ed Youngs brother came & said that Dow was wonded & he wanted I should come & see him. I went to the boat & see him. he was wonded in his right foot with a piece of a shell which cut off two of his toes, the small toe & the one next to it. it was done Saturday night when they were marching towards the fort after dark it was a lucky hit for him. it will clear him from the service. If he had been standing up it would have cut his leggs off but he was laying on his back resting with his right foot up on his left leg when it struck him. we have had a hard fight here, the rebels were / well fortified, they had breast work thrown up nearly a mile in length they opened fire on us sunday morning with their canon from the fort & then our gun boats opened on them & cut them all up they had one, one hundred & 20 pound seage gun, which our gun boats disabled in the morning they cut about two foot off the end of her, the battery commenced about one oclock & lasted until about a half our sun when they raised a white flag and surrendered their whole forces. some say there is eight thousand & some that there is 1200 thousand. we have taken 17 or 18 peaces of canon. the rebels say if they had not captured that boat with amunition their cannon would not have been eny use to them. they captured a boat with 70 tuns of amunition, while we were down the river, & we thought we would come & see if we could take / some of it back which we did & all their stores. we made a good hall this time, they had about 2000 men here, when we went down to vixburg they sent 1000 down there to reinforce them. this is an importent point I think some of our troops will be left here to gard this point it will cut off some of their suplies to vixburg the prisoners will be sent north. a number of our boys are detailed to work on the fortifications, so I think some of us will stay here. we have about 4000 troops here now. I think we had about one hundred & 50 killed & about 4 or five hundred wonded. the rebel loss is larger than ours.

 

Saturday, 17,/63

It has been 3 or 4 days since I commenced my leter, but we have been on the move so that I could not finish it. I received a letter from you yesterday with one of mothers in side / & two postage stamps inside which may come very good as for the present, I have plenty of them. I bought a dollars worth before I left davenport & I have 20 left yet they will last me some time. I hope as long as the war lasts

 

Wednesday, 21/63

well, Mary I dont no as I ever shall get this leter finished, I will try again I have been sick since I commenced this with the diareah which run me hard for 3 or 4 days, but I am geting better now. there is a great many of our regiment sick now. we only about 250 men that are able for duty. there are some dying nearby every day. Ed Young is sick this morning. we will proberbly go in to camp in a day or two for a short time, until we have reinforcements, then they intend to make another atact on vixburg. it is one of the strongest fortified places in the whole south it is next to richmond. we are going in camp at a place called muligons bend, about 30 miles from vixburg /

 

[faded] new years for the weather is warm & pleasent

 

Friday the 2

we moved down to the mississippi about 20 miles from vicksburg & lay there all night & day it has rained all night & day so far

 

Saturday 3

this is my birthday I am 33 years old today. the weather is pleasent to day

 

Monday the 5

the weather is warm we are going up the river / Henry Simpson died this afternoon

 

Tuesday 6

I received two letters from home to day

 

Wednesday 7

we stoped & woods to day & last night we run all night

 

Thursday 8

we are laying at the mouth of white river to day the boys have been out & jayhawked some chickens I saw Dow to day he is well

 

Friday 9

we are starting up white river there is a fort on this river which we are / agoing to atact about 25 miles above the mouth we went up white river about 10 miles & went across a byo into arkansis river

 

Sat. 10

we started out to atact the fort but had to turn back on acount of a slue so we had to turn back. last night we marched on the enemy within about a mile & lay there the night.

 

Sunday 11

We moved on the enemy as soon as we could see they were about one mile from the fort / encamped they went as fast as their legs would cary them & left every thing behind them except their gun & blankets they went inside of their rifel pits. we opened fire on them at one oclock & there was a continual roar until about a half our sun. myself & a number of others were ingaged in taking care of the wonded. they surrenderd their whole force which is about 8 or 1000 thous

 

Saturday, 17 we have moved back onto the mississippi to day /

            you spoke about about sending yours & the childrens likeness I would like them very much. If you have them taken, get them as small as you can & in one case, you can have you in one side & the children in the other, the smaller they are the the more convenient to cary I would like Johns & Joseys & the litle ones you can send them by mail I think without any trouble. Don is on our boat now he came on last night when we / landed & is on yet he is not very well he has a kind of of a pluresy in his side he is well otherwise. Vrooman is well & harty. tell Henry I would like to have him write to me. I hope he will engoy himself this winter for if he was here he would see harder times than he ever saw. Dond says this is the hardest trip he ever saw. sometimes we have plenty to eat & others not so much. last night we had fresh mutton & sweet potatoes / & fresh ham & honey the boys take everything they want, every chance they have we have had all the honey we wanted for the past 3 or 4 days. I think we will get to a stoping place to day & it is about time for we have been on this old boat until I am geting tierd of it we have been on the move ever since Henry left helena which is over thirty days. I think thirty days more will tell the / story wether we do take vixburg or not. we have not got our pay yet & I dont expect we will until after this trip to vixburg you must manage som way to get along until I get some. we have had some snow here it has been very cold & disagreeable it is some warmer to day

 

            no more this time write often from your husband O Shibly

to mollie, good by

 

I have paper

 

[margins]

 

but I thought I would send you som notes which I have taken

 

kiss the children for me

 

tell Lillie if she is a good girl I will bring her something nice when I come home

 

tell me all the news when you write

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