Memphis Tennissee

Aprile ^the 23^{rd 1863}

 

Most dear and beloved Wife it is with the gratest of pleasure that I take the present oportunity to right you a fiew lines for your perusal I am well and I hope and trust that when these fiew lines comes to hand that they will find you and them sweet Children and all the rest of the friends enjoying the best of health Well my dear Beloved Wife I think the time very long to get home to see you and the little children But I am not home sick for that is just about as bad as aney other sicknes here I am very well sadisfied but that is not saying that I dont want to come home for you My Dear Wife is not of off my mind one hour in the day O how I would like to see you 

 

Well Cordeliann I expect that you are out of money and need some bad but we have been geting our pay tomorow for the last three weeks but we haint got it yet and I have give up looking for it until I see it coming my self but I think when we get it we will get four months pay I have not herd from Levi since Fred Hawk was down there I think the time very long to hear from him and I have not herd from A.E.B. for almost two months but my Dear beloved wife what makes me the uneasiest is that I have not herd from you for almost four weeks I am afraid that you are sick and you dont want to let me no it for fear that it would trouble me well it would make me feel very bad but it makes me very uneasy when I cant hear from you for so long 

 

well we dont get to hear much war news but I think that it wont last very long or at least I hope it wont but I dont think that there is much danger of us leaving hear for some length of time but I am very well sadisfied here we have plenty to eat and plenty of tea and coffee I am still cooking for our Captain yet I have six to cook for now that is Capt E S Metzger and Lieutenant Stoops and Ajutent Dent and surgeant hart and Jacob Crabs and Samuel Bolman I like cooking very well well the rest of the boys are all well and the health of the Regiment is migling good well this ring that you will find in this letter is some of the workmanship of my own hands and it is made out of a piece of a coconut shell and that piece of bras I put in my self it is a present that I / want you to give it to Samey and tell Albert that I will send him one in a short time tell him that I had one made for him and spoiled it before I got it done they are geting up a regiment of negroes there is plenty of them here but I dont want them about me for they are a nasty dirty lousy set of well I was agoing to call them people but I dont no whether I can the wenches are more like old cows runing round bulling than aney thing else And we have some men in our Regiment that is not aney better than they are well I dont no as I have much more to right at present but I remain your dear Husband to my dear Wife and sweet children

Hugh Bay to my

Dear and Beloved Wife

Cordeliann Bay

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